（1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China) （2.NingBo Institute of Dalian University of Technology, Ningbo 315000, China)
With the advantages of low density, high specific strength and high fracture toughness, aluminum alloys are widely used in the fields of aerospace, marine engineering and transportation. However, the aluminum alloy castings prepared by the traditional casting molding process have unavoidable casting defects and cannot meet the requirements of high-performance aluminum alloy components. The development of external field assisted controlled solidification technology by combining the physical fields such as electromagnetism and ultrasound with the traditional casting process can produce aluminum alloy castings with uniform organization and good performance, which is of great significance to the development and application of aluminum alloy. This paper mainly introduces the technical principle of external field assisted casting molding process and reviews the latest research progress of external field forming of aluminum alloy, mainly including electromagnetic casting, ultrasonic casting and the application of multi-physical field numerical simulation in casting forming. The refinement mechanism of electromagnetic field and ultrasonic field in aluminum alloy solidification is highlighted to provide reference for the development of composite field forming technology and the preparation of high-performance aluminum alloy. Finally, the development direction of aluminum alloy external field forming technology for the preparation of high-quality aluminum alloy castings is prospected.