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Cast aluminium (Al) alloys are widely used for structural components because of
their advantages such as cost saving and flexibility in fabrication compared with
wrought alloys. However as-cast materials generally reveal a coarse
microstructure and contain many casting defects arisen from shrinkage and
release of dissolved gases during solidification. Such casting defects act
frequently as the crack initiation site and reduce the fatigue strength and fatigue
life in cast Al alloys. From a viewpoint of fatigue reliability, therefore, controlling
casting defect is extremely important, but it is very difficult to completely
eliminate casting defects during casting process even though the advances in
casting technology can reduce the defect size.