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Effect of Main Elements (Zn, Mg, and Cu) on Hot Tearing Susceptibility During Direct-Chill Casting of 7xxx Aluminum Alloys

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Abstract

New 7xxx aluminum alloys with high alloying contents are being designed, which could induce serious hot tearing defects during direct-chill (DC) casting. Among all factors affecting hot tearing of 7xxx alloys, undoubtedly alloying elements play a significant role. In this study, the effect of main alloying elements (Zn, Mg, and Cu) on hot tearing of grain-refined Al-xZn-yMg-zCu alloys was investigated by a dedicated hot tearing rating apparatus simulating the DC-casting process. It was found that the minimum and maximum hot tearing susceptibilities occur for 4 to 6 and 9 wt pct Zn, respectively, indicating the complicated effect of Zn content. The hot tearing resistance of grain-refined Al-9Zn-yMg-zCu alloys is enhanced with increasing Mg content but is deteriorated with increasing Cu content. This can be attributed to the interaction of the thermal stresses, melt feeding, and final eutectics. The observed tendencies of the main alloying elements on hot tearing were also confirmed for four commercial 7xxx alloys. In addition, both the load value at non-equilibrium solidus and the SKK criterion proposed by Suyitno et al. using measured load developments were found to be good indicators in predicting hot tearing susceptibility. This study can provide a beneficial guide in designing 7xxx alloys considering the potential occurrence of hot cracks beforehand.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Major State Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0300801); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51671017); the Beijing Laboratory of Metallic Materials and Processing for Modern Transportation; and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. FRF-GF-17-B3). The authors would like to thank Dr. Q. Du from SINTEF for a valuable discussion.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, PR China

    Y. Li, Z. R. Zhang, Z. Y. Zhao, H. X. Li, J. S. Zhang & L. Z. Zhuang

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands

    L. Katgerman

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  1. Y. Li
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Manuscript submitted February 5, 2019.

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Li, Y., Zhang, Z.R., Zhao, Z.Y. et al. Effect of Main Elements (Zn, Mg, and Cu) on Hot Tearing Susceptibility During Direct-Chill Casting of 7xxx Aluminum Alloys. Metall Mater Trans A 50, 3603–3616 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-019-05268-z

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