Evaluation of hot tearing susceptibility of 6000 series aluminum alloys using constrained solidification test

Abstract

This work focuses on the determination of the hot tearing susceptibility of aluminum alloys using a Constrained Rod Casting (CRC) mold. In order to do so, a CRC mold was designed and manufactured and different alloys within the 6000 series were tested. Different criteria for the determination of the hot tearing susceptibility were proposed and evaluated. In certain alloys, the effect on the hot tearing susceptibility with the amount of certain alloying elements, grain refiner addition and metallostatic pressure was evaluated. The results obtained in this work show a good correlation to those found by other authors, as well as to the hot tearing tendency of alloys produced by direct-chill (DC) casting in our cast shop. Therefore, the use of a CRC test in order to predict how different 6000 series alloys will perform in solidification processes like DC casting shows to be a simple and cost-effective option with very good results.