Casting Solutions require a thorough understanding of casting defects.

The
following section addresses common defects in castings.

Hot Tear

Hot Tear (Revealed By Black Light MT)

Hot Tear is one of the more troublesome defects that foundries and OEM's have to deal
with. There is considerable literature available addressing the subject, however much of it
is not particularly helpful from a practical solutions-based approach.
It is hoped that this section provides useful and concise information on the subject of hot
tears.

Hot Tear at section change of Impeller

Appearance of Hot Tears

Jagged linear ruptures, typically at or near surface but occasionally

internal

Can appear as discontinuous or continuous defects

Revealed on as-cast surface, after grinding or machining, or only

after Non Destructive Testing

Can be a few mm long or greater than 1 m

Can be very tight, narrow cracks or wide open ruptures

Can form in all different alloys but some are much more prone than
others

How do Hot Tears Occur?

They form during the final stages of solidification or at solidus when

there are low melting-point solutes present

The strain in adjacent metal section exceeds a critical value and

tears occur

At a critical stress level, meniscus of film recedes from casting

surface

What Factors Contribute to Hot Tears?

Design (Casting Shape)

o Thick to thin section change such as that formed from a spoke

of a gear
o "H" Shape

Mold Core
o

Restricting contraction

o A mold section or core section can restrict the way the casting

shrinks

Riser (Feeder)
o Risering can affect the contraction characteristics
o Insufficient risering may result in insufficient feed metal being

available to the solidifying cast sections

o Excessive risering can affect the degree of segregation and

the potential of low melting point grain boundary films

Gating
o Insufficient in-gates create unfavourable thermal gradients

and more potential of hot tears

o Turbulence in gating creates stress risers

Pouring Temperature
o Excessive pouring temperature creates steep thermal

gradients and thermal stress

o Lower pouring temperatures promote finer as-cast grain size

What Factors to Consider to Reduce Potential of Hot Tears?

Design Considerations
o Recognize the risk of a casting design to contribute to hot

tears
o Consider the use of cores to reduce the shrinkage stress from

a rib section attached to a rim and hub

o Use generous radii

Molding Coremaking Considerations

o Ensure that cores have sufficient lighteners to allow better

collapsibility and to ensure that they do not sustain a hot-spot

(keep the adjacent section hotter longer)
o Ensure that the mold or core are not over compacted
o Consider the use of different molding/coremaking media with

improved thermal conductivity and chilling capability. Ensure

when this is adopted that excessive chilling sand is not used
which could result in poor feeding of a section, see the
illustration below. The arrows are the preferred locations for
chilling sand and not the entire rib. Although this is not easy
to accompish it is the prudent strategy to reduce potential of

hot tear.

Location of Arrows is Preferred zoning of

Specialty Chilling Sand

Hot Tear Revealed by Grinding