Hot cracking tendency test and simulation of 7075 semi-solid aluminium alloy

Abstract The hot cracking tendency of 7075 semi-solid alloy under different conditions was studied by critical diameter method. The experiment and simulation results show that the dendrite arms of the rod grow from the edge to the center. The smaller the diameter of the rod is, the more obvious the directional growth of dendrite is, and the greater the tendency of hot cracking is. Compared with ordinary melt, for semi-solid slurry, increasing mould temperature or decreasing pouring temperature can significantly decrease hot cracking tendency of 7075 alloy, decreasing hot cracking grade from 256 to 100 mm2. Furthermore, based on the RDG criterion, the effects of solidification conditions on the hot cracking tendency were discussed combined with simulation. At the same time, the application and development of RDG criterion were also researched.