The aim of the present paper was to contribute to understanding the origin and effects of porosity in aluminum die-castings by characterizing the distribution and geometry of the porosity. It also seeks to develop a predictive model for microporosity formation during solidification through an analysis of the alloy solidification path, the presence of gas dissolved in the molten metal and the flow of liquid metal through the mushy zone. The finite element method was used for solving porosity formation problem jointly with the problem for heat and mass transfer. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.