Mechanism of local solidification time variations with melt rate during vacuum arc remelting process of 8Cr4Mo4V high-strength steel

A 2D axisymmetric numerical model was established to investigate the variations of molten pool with different melt rates during the vacuum arc remelting of 8Cr4Mo4V high-strength steel,and the ingot growth was simulated by dynamic mesh techniques.The results show that as the ingot grows,the molten pool profile changes from shallow and flat to V-shaped,and both the molten pool depth and the mushy width increase.Meanwhile,the variation of both the molten pool shape and the mushy width melt rate is clarified by the thermal equilibrium analysis.As melt rate increases,both the molten pool depth and the mushy width increase.It is caused by the increment in sensible heat stored in the ingot due to the limitation of the cooling capacity of the mold.The nonlinear increment in sensible heat leads to a nonlinear increase in the mushy width.In addition,as melt rate increases,the local solidification time(LST)of ingot decreases obviously at first and then increases.When melt rate is controlled in a suitable range,LST is the lowest and the secondary dendrite arm spacing of the ingot is the smallest,which can effectively improve the compactness degree of 8Cr4Mo4V high-strength steel.

Relationship between secondary dendrite arm spacing and local solidification time of 30Cr2Ni4MoV alloy at slow cooling rates

Solidification process of 231 t 30Cr2Ni4MoV ingot manufactured by slow cooling process was studied using experimental and numerical simulations, which tackled the problems of high cost and long period in large ingot studying. Based on the numerical results of large ingot, five characteristic locations under different temperature gradients and cooling rates chosen from the large ingot were simulated. The experiments were performed under the same temperature conditions as in numerical simulations with specialized instrument. The influences of temperature gradient in the solid-liquid interface and solidification rate on the size and morphology of solidification structure were analyzed at cooling rate ranging from 10-3 to 10 2℃ s-1. Solidification macrostructure and microstructure showed that no columnar dendrite was found in any specimen. The grain size and secondary dendrite arm spacing decreased at larger cooling rate, and the relationship between secondary dendrite arm spacing and local solidification time or cooling rate was determined.

Mathematical Model for Electroslag Remelting Process

A mathematical model, including electromagnetic field equation, fluid flow equation, and temperature field equation, was established for the simulation of the electroslag remelting process. The distribution of temperature field was obtained by solving this model. The relationship between the local solidification time and the interdendritic spacing during the ingot solidification process was established, which has been regarded as a criterion for the evaluation of the quality of crystallization. For a crucible of 950 mm in diameter, the local solidification time is more than 1 h at the center of the ingot with the longest interdendritic spacing, whereas it is the shortest at the edge of the ingot according to the calculated results. The model can be used to understand the ESR process and to predict the ingot quality.

Design of process parameters for direct squeeze casting

On the basis of the analysis of solidification interval and temperature distribution of components manufactured by the squeeze casting method, formulas for calculating the solidification interval and compaction pressure were deduced according to the principal request that the compaction pressure should be equal to or greater than the plastic deformation resistance of the forming component when solidification ended. The solidification interval was proven to be associated with many factors, such as weight of the component, specific heat of the alloy, latent heat, pouring temperature, component temperature at the end of solidification and heat-transfer coefficients. The compaction pressure was related to the strain rate, deformation temperature, and dimension of the de- forming component. The solidification interval and compaction pressure calculated by the formulas deduced in this article were adopted in the production of 45 steel bidirectional chapiter valves, and components with excellent oerformance were manufactured.

Performance analysis of thermal storage unit with possible nano enhanced phase change material in building cooling applications

The heat transfer performance of the phase change materials used in free cooling and air conditioning applications is low,due to the poor thermal conductivity of the materials.The recent phenomenal advancement in nano technology provides an opportunity for an appreciable enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the phase change materials.In order to explore the possibilities of using nano technology for various applications,a detailed parametric study is carried out,to analyse the heat transfer enhancement potential with the thermal conductivity of the conventional phase change materials and nano enhanced phase change materials under various flow conditions of the heat transfer fluid.Initially,the theoretical equation,used to determine the time for outward cylindrical solidification of the phase change material,is validated with the experimental results.It is inferred from the parametric studies,that for paraffinic phase change materials with air as the heat transfer fluid,the first step should be to increase the heat transfer coefficient to the maximum extent,before making any attempt to increase the thermal conductivity of the phase change materials,with the addition of nano particles.When water is used as the phase change material,the addition of nano particles is recommended to achieve better heat transfer,when a liquid is used as the heat transfer fluid.

Precipitation behavior of titanium nitride on a primary inclusion particle during solidification of bearing steel

Titanium nitride precipitation on a primary inclusion particle during solidification of bearing steel has been tracked by varying temperature in a confocal scanning violet laser microscope.Upon precipitation,an obvious growth of titanium nitride on a primary inclusion particle was observed due to the rapid solute diffusion in liquid steel.The onset of titanium nitride precipitation did not change with primary inclusion particle size,but the time of growth was greater for a smaller primary inclusion particle.Meanwhile,the particle size displayed little influence on the total precipitated amount of titanium nitride on it under the same conditions.At the later period of solidification,almost no change occurred in inclusion size,but the inclusion shape varied from circle to almost square in two-dimension,or cubic in three-dimension,to attain the equilibrium with steel.

Effect of superheat on quality of central equiaxed grain zone of continuously cast bearing steel billet based on two-dimensional segregation ratio

The quality of central equiaxed grain zone （CEGZ） of GCr15 bearing steel billets was investigated at different superheats （20, 25 and 35 ℃ by experimental observations and a finite element model in order to optimize superheat in continuous casting process. Several GCrl5 billets were collected from the continuous casting shop, and the same CEGZ was chosen for comparison of internal quality of GCrl5 billets. Considering the limitation of segregation index at some points, two- dimensional segregation ratio in CEGZ was introduced. Firstly, the segregation ratio and the area of center large dark points in CEGZ obtain the minimum at 25 ℃ superheat, which indicates that the quality of CEGZ at 25 ~C superheat is improved compared with those at 20 and 35 ℃ superheats for corresponding continuously cast billets. The highest superheat and the lowest superheat are not beneficial for improving the central zone quality in the billets. Secondly, the quality of CEGZ of GCr15 billets increases with a decrease in the secondary dendrite arm spacing of CEGZ. Finally, according to the established finite element model, it is deduced that the secondary dendrite arm spacing of CEGZ is closely related to its later solidifica- tion time at solid fraction of 0.5-1.0, and the former will be decreased when decreasing the latter.

Segregation of Niobium During Electroslag Remelting Process

Experiment was carried out after the process parameters were calculated by the model previously established. The relationship between interdendritic spacing and local solidification time （LST） mainly determined by process parameters was exposed. Furthermore, the extent of segregation was studied. The results indicate that LST and interdendritic spacing are the largest and the amount of Laves phase as a result of the niobium segregation is the highest in the center of the ingot, whereas the opposite results are obtained at the edge of ingot. The extent of element segregation and the amount of Laves phase can be reduced when appropriate parameters are used. Therefore, the duration of subsequent homogenization treatments for 718 is shortened and the alloy quality is improved.