Status quo and development trend of lost foam casting technology

Lost foam casting(LFC)technology has been widely applied to cast iron and cast steel.However,the development of LFC for Al and Mg alloys was relatively slower than that for cast iron and cast steel.The application of LFC to Al and Mg alloys needs more effort,especially in China.In this paper,the development history of LFC is reviewed,and the application situations of LFC to Al and Mg alloys are mainly discussed.Meanwhile,the key problems of LFC for Al and Mg alloys are also pointed out.Finally,the prospects for LFC technology are discussed,and some special new LFC technologies are introduced for casting Al and Mg alloys.In future,the development trends of green LFC technology mainly focus on the special new LFC methods,metal material,coating,heat treatment,new foam materials as well as purification technology of tail gas,etc.