Hot cracking in light metal alloys

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The overarching theme of my research program is the linkage between processing and product, with specific emphasis on quality issues in the casting industry. This is an important industry to Canada and, despite being well established, is one facing critical challenges in the years ahead both in terms of increased global competition and reducing energy consumption. There is limited remaining scope for empirical based trial and error design methodologies. Quantitative, mathematically based, tools are needed so that manufacturing aspirations can be matched with design capability. The ability to virtually design casting processes using computer based mathematical models has the potential to radically transform this industry in the next decade, leading to new and improved products and processes and reduced energy consumption. The project described in this proposal is concerned with understanding hot tearing in aluminum alloys. Losses due to hot-cracking continue to represent a significant economic burden to the casting industry and fusion welding industry in Canada. The goal of the proposed research is to develop novel experimental methodologies for the characterization of damage leading to hot tearing, to understanding the mechanisms at play in the evolution of this damage and to develop a fundamental-based model to describe hot tearing in these alloys that may be used in conjunction with thermal-stress process models.