Abstract: | For the two-step foaming method,one of the most cost-effective ways to fabricate three-dimensional shaped aluminum alloy foams with dense outer surface skin,it is crucial to describe and predict the moldfilling behavior of the shaped aluminum alloy foams with a favorable pore-distribution accurately.In this paper,a mold-filling model for semi-solid aluminum alloy foams was initially established and subsequently employed to predict the filling height,which represents the mold-filling ability of semi-solid aluminum alloy foams in a specially designed tube-like mold.Our results indicate that the proposed model can be applied to characterize the mold-filling property of aluminum alloy melts in a quantitative manner.Theoretically,our findings actually provide a guideline for mass-production of the shaped aluminum alloy foams by using the two-step foaming process. |