Mechanical properties and cold cracking evaluations of four 7××× series aluminum alloys using a newly developed index

Abstract Cold cracking is a severe challenge during the direct-chill casting of high-strength 7××× series aluminum alloys. A finite element method (FEM) simulation combined with a cold cracking criterion has been demonstrated to possess obvious technical advantages in cold cracking prediction. However, the current absence of mechanical properties and effective criteria for 7××× series aluminum alloys inhibits the progress of the technique. In this study, the corresponding mechanical properties of four typical 7××× series aluminum alloys are investigated. The cold cracking tendencies of the alloys are evaluated by a new cold cracking index (CCI) developed by the authors. It is shown that AA7055 has the highest cold cracking propensity among the four alloys, followed by AA7050, AA7085, and AA7022, respectively. The cold cracking tendency is basically consistent with the amount of nonequilibrium eutectics of the alloys under the same casting process. It is also shown that the application of water wiper can effectively decrease the occurrence of cold cracking.