Water modeling of molten steel flow in a multi-strand tundish with gas blowing

Fluid flow characteristics in a four-strand tundish with gas blowing were studied by water modeling experiments.It is found that gas blowing can greatly improve the flow characteristics in the tundish with a turbulence inhibitor.It dramatically increases the peak concentration time,and greatly decreases the dead volume,and reduces the minimum residence time.The gas blowing location,gas flow rate,and porous plug area greatly influence the flow characteristics in the tundish; the gas blowing location near the baffle,smaller gas flow rate,and smaller porous plug area are better for improving the fluid flow characteristics.Using gas blowing can reduce the difference of flows at the middle outlets and side outlets for the multi-strand tundish.Bubbles produced by gas blowing can absorb small inclusions and provide the condition for inclusion collision and aggregation.Therefore,introducing gas blowing into a tundish and combining the turbulence inhibitor can improve inclusion floating and removal,and the cleanness of molten steel can be advanced.

Rational argon stirring for a 150-t ladle furnace

Based on the principle of similarity, water modeling experiments were carried out for a 150-t ladle furnace. The rational parameters of argon stirring were determined as the optimized positions of nozzles, top area of the porous brick, and gas flow rate. The following results are obtained： 1） the optimized positions of two nozzles are at 0.333R （R refers to the radius of the ladle at bottom） with an angle of 135°; 2） the top diameter of the porous brick should be 130 mm; 3） the flow rate of gas should be 25.0-30.6 m^3/h. The plant trial shows that the improved process is effective in enhancing the cleanliness of round billets. The total oxygen content, microinclusions, and macroinclusions in round billets are reduced by 12.5%, 8.2%, and 20%, respectively.

Adjustment Disorder in Female Breast Cancer Patients:Prevalence and Its Accessory Symptoms

Women diagnosed with breast cancer may have serious psychological problems and will suffer from adjustment disorder(AjD).We investigated the prevalence of AjD in female breast cancer patients who were diagnosed within 1 year and examined the severe life events they experienced,and the most common symptoms of AjD.342 newly diagnosed(<1 year)female breast cancer patients were recruited from Tongji Hospital and Hubei Cancer Hospital in Hubei,China,from July 2018 to May 2019.The patients completed the self-report questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the scale ADNM-20 for the diagnosis of AjD.SPSS20.0 was used for data analysis.As a result,the prevalence of AjD in breast cancer patients was 38.6%.Patients from rural areas and lacking of exercise were more likely to suffer from AjD(P<0.05).The prevalence of AjD in patients who did not regard breast cancer as the most severe life event was higher than that in patients who took breast cancer as the most severe life event(44.4%vs.33.9%,P<0.05;OR=1.728,95%CI=1.072-2.787).The symptom that scored highest was preoccupation(3.15).We found that the prevalence of AjD in women with breast cancer in this study is very high and warrants more attention.Patients from rural areas,lacking of exercise and subject to multiple stressors are more likely to suffer from AjD.The commonest and severe symptom is preoccupation.

Effect of channel diameter on magneto-thermal conversion ratio and consistency of each strand in a multi-strand induction heating tundish

The electromagnetic,flow,heat transfer and inclusions motion model of the channel-type induction heating(IH)tundish was established,and the effect of the channel diameter on the metallurgical behavior of the tundish was studied.The results show that the magnetic field in the channel of the IH tundish tends to concentrate on the surface layer and the side near the coil.As the channel diameter is increased from 100 to 180 mm,the maximum value of magnetic flux density in the channel decreases by 0.125 T,and the maximum value of electromagnetic force decreases by 11.83×10^(5) N m^(-3);however,the off-center distance of magnetic field increases by 9.4 mm,and the Joule heat in the channel decreases by 1004 kW,which leads to the reduction in temperature rising rate of the tundish from 1.41 to 0.59 K min^(-1).When the channel diameter is 100,140 and 180 mm,the maximum velocity at the channel exit before heating is 0.59,0.29 and 0.18 m s^(-1),and after heating for 1800 s,it is 1.52,1.12 and 0.92 m s^(-1),respectively.In addition,the total inclusions escape ratio after heating for 1800 s with a channel diameter of 140 mm can be reduced by 12.39% compared to that before heating,and the maximum difference of escape ratios for each strand is only 4.51% and 5.32% before heating and after heating for 1800 s,respectively.Compared with the channel diameters of 100 and 180 mm,the channel diameter of 140 mm is more favorable to improve the metallurgical effect of the IH tundish.

Inclusion evolution in 50CrVA spring steel by optimization of refining slag

In order to control the CaO-Al;O;-SiO;-MgO system inclusions in 50 CrVA spring steel in a lower melting temperature region,high temperature equilibrium experiments between steel and slag were performed in the laboratory,under the conditions of the initial slag basicity within 3-7and the content of Al;O;between 18-35mass%,to investigate the formation and evolution of this type of inclusion.The results indicate that the total oxygen content in the steel decreases with the increase of slag basicity and the decrease of Al;O;content in slags,and CaO-Al;O;-SiO2-MgO inclusions tend to deviate from the low melting point region with the increase of Al;O;content in slags.The most favorable composition for the refining slag is composed of 51-56mass% CaO,9-13mass% SiO;,20-25mass% Al;O;and 6mass% MgO.In this case,the inclusions in 50 CrVA spring steel are mostly in the low melting point regions,in which their plasticities are expected to improve during steel rolling.The MgO-based inclusions were observed in the steel matrix and the formation mechanism was theoretically and schematically revealed.It is also found that adding around 11mass% of MgO into the refining slags is beneficial to reducing the refractory corrosion.Further work should be carried out focusing on the evolution rates of MgO-based inclusions.

Thermo-elasto-visco-plastic finite element analysis on formation and propagation of off-corner subsurface cracks in bloom continuous casting

The formation and propagation of the popular off-corner subsurface cracks in bloom continuous casting were investigated through thermo-mechanical analysis using three coupled thermo-mechanical models. A two-dimensional thermo-elasto-visco-plastic finite element model was developed to predict the mould gap evolution, temperature profiles and deformation behavior of the solidified shell in the mould region. Then, a three-dimensional model was adopted to calculate the shell growth, tempera- ture history and the development of stresses and strains of the shell in the following secondary cooling zones. Finally, another three-dimensional model was used to analyze the stress distributions in the straightening region, The results showed that the off-corner cracks in the shell originated from the mould owing to the tensile strain developed in the crack sensitive regions of the solidification front, and they could be driven deeper by the possible severe surface temperature rebound and the extensive tensile stress in the secondary cooling zone, especially upon the straightening operation of the bloom casting. It is revealed that more homogenous shell temperature and thickness can be obtained through optimization of mould corner radius, casting speed and secondary cooling scheme, which help to decrease stress and strain concentration and therefore prevent the initiation of the cracks.