Simulation of electro-slag re-melting process of 120t large ingot for nuclear power station and its application

Further research on metallic materials for the super critical rotator and the main pipe line of a nuclear power station is very important for developing the nuclear power industry. In this study, the mathematical model for 120 t large ingot was established, and the computer program ESR3D was developed to simulate the whole electro-slag re-melting (ESR) process. This includes the electrode melting, metallic droplet falling, metal pool forming, metal pool and slag pool rising and moving, installation of top crystallizer, ingot solidifying, etc. The simulated average melting rate of the electrode was in good agreement with that in practical production. The optimized parameters were used to produce 80-120 t large ingots, and the quality of the ingots satisfied the specifications of nuclear power and the super critical generating unit.

Numerical simulation on multiple pouring process for a 292 t steel ingot

A ladle-tundish-mould transportation model considering the entire multiple pouring(MP) process is proposed. Numerical simulation is carried out to study the carbon distribution and variation in both the tundish and the mould for making a 292 t steel ingot. Firstly, the fluid flow as well as the heat and mass transfer of the molten steel in the tundish is simulated based on the multiphase transient turbulence model. Then, the carbon mixing in the mould is calculated by using the species concentration at the tundish outlet as the inlet condition during the teeming process. The results show a high concentration of carbon at the bottom and a low concentration of carbon at the top of the mould after a MP process with carbon content high in the first ladle and low in the last ladle. Such carbon concentration distribution would help reduce the negative segregation at the bottom and the positive segregation at the top of the solidified ingot.

Microstructural evolution of(TiAl)+Nb+W+B alloy

A newly designed TiAl alloy containing W,Nb,and B was produced through magnetic-flotation-melting method.Mass production of this TiAl-based alloy,15 kg ingot size,which is quite different from the 0.05 kg small ingot produced by arc-melting,has a large effect on the metallurgical properties,such as the grain size and the phase structures of the alloy.Heat treatments were carefully designed in order to reduce the amount of the high-temperature remaining β phase in the alloy,and to obtain optimal microstructures for mechanical behavior studies.A room-temperature ductility of 1.9% was obtained in the cast TiAl-based alloy after the appropriate heat treatment.The mechanical behavior of the large ingot through mass production of the TiAl-based alloy was largely improved by the alloy design and subsequent heat treatments.

Numerical Simulation of Thermal Characteristics in the Process of Electroslag Remelting for Production of Large Slab Ingots

The slag pool is a complex system which gathers electromagnetic field,thermal field and flow field in the process of electroslag remelting(ESR)for production of large slab ingots.In this manuscript,mathematic foundation and boundary conditions of the numerical simulation for thermal field in the ESR process of large slab ingots were analyzed, and mathematic model of heat generation in the slag pool and the solidification in the metal molten pool were founded by using the finite element software ANSYS.According to the simulation results,it can be found that the temperature distribution in the process of ESR for production of large slab ingots with double electrode series is different from that in the electroslag furnace with a single electrode.The region of the biggest current density and the highest temperature in the electroslag furnace with a single electrode is below the electrode,while the same region in the process of ESR with the double electrode series for production of large slab ingots locates between the two electrodes.The depth of the metal pool and the temperature of the slag bath simulated by mathematical model were close to the measured value in the experimental process,which verifies the reliability of the simulation method and the model,and it will provide a theoretical basis for the quality control of large slab ingots in the process of ESR.

Melting and floating processes of inorganic materials in molten steel:Visualization physical simulation and mathematical modelling

It has been demonstrated that heat absorption method by using the inorganic material rod to cool the molten steel can significantly reduce the macrosegregation level of the large steel ingot.However,owing to the opacity of the molten steel,the physical mechanism of the heat absorption method is not clear.In this work,a transparent hydraulic physical model with water and paraffin wax was built to simulate the melting and floating processes of inorganic materials in the molten steel.A mathematical simulation was also carried out to analyze the connection between the actual ingot and the physical model.Results show that it is feasible to simulate the molten steel and inorganic materials with water and paraffin wax.With the help of the physical model,the process of the melting of paraffin wax and its floating to the surface of water were clearly observed,during which the temperature of water at some characteristic positions in the mold was recorded.The visualization findings demonstrate that the melting and floating processes of paraffin wax can help to bring the heat from the center of the mold to the top surface more quickly,which reduces the superheat and significantly accelerates the cooling rate of water.The experimental results show that for the water with a certain superheat,the use of a larger mass of paraffin wax can accelerate the cooling of the water,but there is a risk of incomplete melting of the paraffin wax.A higher superheat of water will lead to a quicker melting rate for a given mass of paraffin wax,while a lower superheat leads to the incomplete melting of paraffin wax as well.

A Numerical Study of the Effect of Multiple Pouring on Macrosegregation in a 438-Ton Steel Ingot

In present paper, a ladle-tundish-mold CFD model and a macrosegregation model were utilized to investigate the effects of the multiple pouring （MP） process on the macrosegregation in a 438-ton steel ingot. Firstly, the model was partially proved as compared to the measured carbon distributions along the transverse sections in the riser of ingot. Then, the comparison between the single pouring （SP） and MP process has been carried out to study their influences on the macrosegregation in ingot. Besides, the predicted macrosegregation results in MP process which introduced the improved riser fixed with an insulating sleeve were compared with that in traditional MP process. The traditional MP process leads to certain favorable initial carbon distribution in the mold, which has some favorable influence on suppressing the positive segregation in ingot. The holding time of the low carbon in the riser is the main factor to suppress the positive segregation in ingot. Improved insulating sleeve can prolong the holding time of the low carbon in the riser and release the positive segregation in the riser of ingot. Improvement of the insulating effect of the riser is an efficient method to control macrosegregation in large steel ingot.

Application of heat absorption method to reduce macrosegregation during solidification of bearing steel ingot

The control of macrosegregation is still a difficult problem for the production of large steel ingots.In order to develop new techniques for producing low-macrosegregation and high-quality steel ingots,the effect of the heat absorption method(HAM)used by the inorganic material rods to cool the liquid steel on the formation of macrosegregation during solidification of a 5-t GCr15SiMn bearing steel ingot was studied using experiment and mathematical simulation.The inorganic material was a mixture of CaF2 and CaO.The levels of macrosegregation in the longitudinal sections of two ingots with and without HAM were compared.Experimental results showed that the application of HAM reduced the positive segregation in the upper part of the ingot and the negative segregation in the lower part.The levels of carbon segregation along the longitudinal centerline and horizontal direction at different heights were all alleviated and the fluctuation of carbon segregation was significantly reduced.The simulation results confirmed that the melting and floating of the inorganic material could carry the sensible heat to the top of the liquid steel quickly.This leads to the acceleration of the cooling rate of the liquid steel,thereby alleviating the level of macrosegregation.

Influence of initial microstructure and grain size on transformation of bainite to austenite in large size forgings

The kinetics of austenite formation in the surface and center regions of a 40 t forged ingot of a high-strength medium- carbon low-alloy steel was studied using high-resolution dilatometry. The starting microstructures from the surface or center regions had different proportions of bainite and residual austenite as well as different prior austenite grain sizes. Two heating rates representing the actual heating rates in the surface （5℃ s -1） and center regions （0.5℃ s -1） of large size forged blocks were utilized. Dilatometric curves revealed only one transformation step of austenite formation at both heating rates independent of grain size or proportion of phases. Optical microscopy, field emission gun scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to study microstructure evolution and confirm the results obtained by dilatometry. The kinetic parameters for austenite formation were determined from the dilatometry data by Johnson-Mehl- Avrami-Kolmogorov （JMAK） equation. The JMAK coefficients were determined for each condition of the investigated steels. The calculations indicated that the nucleation and growth of austenite in the surface region were accelerated more than 10,000 times due to a significantly smaller average prior austenite grain size, stability of initial retained austenite, and accumulation of coarse carbides at the surface. The results were discussed in the framework of classical nucleation and growth theories using the kinetic parameters for austenite formation.