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Computer simulation of solidification cracking in high strength aluminum alloys: Basic concepts and approach

Conference ·
OSTI ID:484280
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
  2. Ravenswood Aluminum Co., WV (United States)

High-strength aluminum ingots are sensitive to hot cracking during solidification, and many finite element modelings have been applied to the solidification process of ingot casting. Most simulations can predict the thermal profile and thermal history quite accurately, but very few works succeed in estimating precise distribution of thermal stress because of no valid thermomechanical properties in the as-cast structure. As alloy strength is not only a function of temperature but also a function of microstructure which depends on the cooling history of the ingot, a constitutive modeling of these Al-alloys must be obtained by continuous cooling of different rates in the as-cast structure. In this study, methodology for prediction of solidification cracking, which considers cooling dependent properties, is presented, and thermomechanical properties of the as-cast material are measured, and results are employed in the finite element simulation of direct-chill casting of 7050 aluminum alloys to calculate thermal stress.

OSTI ID:
484280
Report Number(s):
CONF-961140--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English