• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.241-251
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• 2021

7000-series aluminum alloys are noted for their superior strength compared with other Al alloys, and their billets are generally fabricated by direct-chill (DC) casting. Surface defects in a DC-cast aluminum billet are mainly related to exudation and the meniscus freezing phenomenon, which are influenced by alloy compositions, casting speed, and casting temperature. 7000-series aluminum alloys have a wide freezing range during solidification, which makes it easy for casting defects to occur. In this study, we investigated surface defect evolution in casting billets of Al-8Zn-2Mg-2Cu alloy fabricated by a DC casting process. The billets showed "wavy" or "dotted" surfaces. The wavy surface was formed by meniscus freezing at a lower casting speed (200 mm/min) and temperature (655 ℃). In the wavy surface, refined dendritic cells were observed in a concave region due to the constitutional supercooling caused by meniscus freezing. Meanwhile, at a higher casting temperature (675 ℃), the dotted surface was formed by pore formation. In the dotted surfaces in the billet formed at a high casting speed (230 mm/min), an exudation layer was formed by the high metallostatic head pressure. The dotted region and the smooth region had a refined dendritic morphology and a columnar morphology at the exudation layer, respectively. This is attributed to the formation of gas pores in the dotted region.