In a casting, a visual examiner could expect to find:

• A. Laminations
• B. Stringers
• C. Bursts
• D. Hot tears

Answer: (D)

Visual inspection of a casting focuses on surface defects that occur during pouring and solidification. Hot tears form as the metal solidifies and shrinks, but the mold or surrounding sections restrain that shrinkage. The resulting tensile stresses crack the still-hot metal, producing visible cracks on the surface. These cracks commonly appear near corners, thick sections, or zones of poor feeding where cooling is uneven, making them the defect a visual examiner is most likely to encounter.

Laminations are usually internal planar defects and aren’t reliably seen on the surface without other inspection methods. Stringers are elongated inclusions or irregularities along the grain flow that may or may not break the surface, and bursts relate to gas or void-related issues that have different surface manifestations. The distinctly visible surface cracks from hot tearing fit the visual examiner’s typical findings best.