Effect of Process Factors on Microstructure of Semisolid Continuous Casting Billets

Semisolid continuous casting (SSCC) is a new technology to produce billets for semisolid metal forming (SSMF). The effect of process factors, such as pouring temperature, stirring rate, preheating temperature and thermal conductivity of stirring chamber, on the microstructure of SSCC billets was studied by means of the factorial experimental method. The results show that the microstructure of SSCC billets can be controlled by the above-mentioned four process factors. In order to obtain fine and rounded granular grains in an SSCC billet, the pouring temperature, preheating temperature and stirring rate should be kept in a moderate range, and the thermal conductivity of stirring chamber should be high. The regression equations with the process factors connecting the microstructure was also set up based on experimental data.

Rheologic behaviors of A356 aluminum alloy billet produced by semisolid continuous casting process

The experiments for rheologic behaviors of semisolid continuous casting billets of A356 alloy in semisolid state had been carried out with a multifunctional rheometer. The results show that the deformation rate increases with loading time, the maximum strain reaches to 120％ (which is one time larger than that of traditional mold casting billet) and the strain can be rapidly eliminated to 10％ after unloading. Moreover, there is a critic stress for billet deformation even in semisolid state, which is named as critic shear stress. This stress increases with the decreasing of heating time. The theologic behaviors can be expressed by five elements mechanical model (H_2- [N_1|H_2]-[N_2|S]) and can be modified with the increasing of heating time.

Numerical simulation of semisolid continuous casting process

A general mathematical model and boundary condition applicable to momentum and heat transfer in the semisolid continuous casting(SCC) process was established. Using the model, the numerical simulation of the momentum and heat transfer of molten metal was carried out in the SCC system. The obtained results fit well with the measured ones. Moreover, using the numerical simulating software, the effect of various factors on breakout and breakage was explored. The obtained results show that heat flow density of copper mold and the withdrawal beginning time are two major influencing factors. The larger the heat flow density of copper mold, or the shorter the withdrawal beginning time, the more stable the semisolid continuous casting process. [

Stability condition of semisolid continuous casting process

The major unsteady phenomena in semisolid continuous casting process are the breakage and breakout. The essential reasons for them are the passageway blocking or the solidified shell too thin to endure the withdrawal force because of the remained shell formed at the beginning and its developing afterwards. Through theoretically analyzing the crack filling and the remained shell developing, stability conditions were presented. The essential one of them is that the stress acted on the semisolid slurry must be larger than the yield stress of it. The condition without breakage is to build a balance between the increase of the remained shell resulted in solidifying and the decrease of it resulted in flowing of the semisolid slurry. The condition without breakout is to ensure the solidified thickness larger than the safe thickness. The corresponding mathematical formulas of these conditions were set up and the verification experiments show that these conditions are reliable in applications. [

Surface quality, microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Sn alloy plate prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

Cu-4.7%Sn （mass fraction） alloy plate was prepared by the self-developed two-phase zone continuous casting （TZCC） process. The relationship between process parameters of TZCC and surface quality of the alloy plate was investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the TZCC alloy plate were analyzed. The results show that Cu-4.7%Sn alloy plate with smooth surface can be obtained by means of reasonable matching the entrance temperature of two-phase zone mold and the continuous casting speed. The microstructure of the TZCC alloy is composed of grains-covered grains, small grains with self-closed grain boundaries, columnar grains and equiaxed grains. Compared with cold mold continuous casting Cu-4.7%Sn alloy plate, the room temperature tensile strength and ductility of the TZCC alloy plate are greatly improved.

Effect of low-frequency rotary electromagnetic-field on solidification structure of continuous casting austenitic stainless steel

To understand the solidification behavior of austenitic stainless steel in rotary electromagnetic-field, the influence of low-frequency rotary electromagnetic-field on solidification structure of austenitic stainless steel in horizontal continuous casting was investigated based on industrial experiments. The results show that the solidification structure of austenitic stainless steel can be remarkably refined, the central porosity and shrinkage cavity can be remarkably decreased, and the equiaxed grains zone are enlarged by means of application of appropriate low-frequency electromagnetic-field parameters. The industrial trials verify that the stirring intensity of austenitic stainless steel should be higher compared with that of plain carbon steel. Electromagnetic stirring affects the macrostructure even if the average magnetic flux density of the electromagnetic stirring reaches 90 mT (amplitude reaches 141 mT) with the frequency of 3-4 Hz. Due to a higher viscosity, rotating speed of molten stainless steel is 20%-30% lower than that of molten carbon steel in the same magnetic flux density.

Formation and control of the surface defect in hypo-peritectic steel during continuous casting:A review

Hypo-peritectic steels are widely used in various industrial fields because of their high strength,high toughness,high processability,high weldability,and low material cost.However,surface defects are liable to occur during continuous casting,which includes depression,longitudinal cracks,deep oscillation marks,and severe level fluctuation with slag entrapment.The high-efficiency production of hypo-peritectic steels by continuous casting is still a great challenge due to the limited understanding of the mechanism of peritectic solidification.This work reviews the definition and classification of hypo-peritectic steels and introduces the formation tendency of common surface defects related to peritectic solidification.New achievements in the mechanism of peritectic reaction and transformation have been listed.Finally,countermeasures to avoiding surface defects of hypo-peritectic steels duiring continuous casting are summarized.Enlightening certain points in the continuous casting of hypo-peritectic steels and the development of new techniques to overcome the present problems will be a great aid to researchers.

High-strength aluminum alloys hollow billet prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

The two-phase zone continuous casting(TZCC)technique was used to continuously cast high-strength aluminum alloy hollow billets,and a verified 3D model of TZCC was used to simulate the flow and temperature fields at casting speeds of 2-6 mm·min^(-1).Hollow billets under the same conditions were prepared,and their macro/microstructures were analyzed by an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope.During the TZCC process,a circular fluid flow appears in front of the mushy zone,and the induction heated stepped mold and convective heat transfer result in a curved solidification front with depressed region near the inner wall and a vertical temperature gradient.The deflection of the solidification front decreases and the average cooling rate in the mushy zone increases with increasing casting speed.Experimental results for a 2D12 alloy show that hot tearing periodically appears in the hollow billet accompanied by macrosegregation near the inner wall at casting speeds of 2 and 4 mm·min^(-1),while macroscopic defects of hot tearing and macrosegregation weaken and the average size of columnar crystals in the hollow billets decreases with further increasing casting speed.2D12 aluminum alloy hollow billets with no macroscopic defects,the finest columnar crystals,and excellent mechanical properties were prepared by TZCC at a casting speed of 6 mm·min^(-1),which is beneficial for the further plastic forming process.

Effect of electromagnetic stirring on solidification structure of austenitic stainless steel in horizontal continuous casting

An investigation on the influence of low frequency rotary electromagnetic stirring on solidification structure of austenitic stainless steel in horizontal continuous casting was experimentally conducted and carried out on an industrial trial basis. The results show that application of appropriate electromagnetic stirring parameters can obviously improve the macrostructure of austenitic stainless steel, in which both columnar and equiaxed grains can be greatly refined and shrinkage porosity or cavity zone along centerline can be remarkably decreased due to eliminating intracrystalline and enlarging equiaxed grains zone. The industrial trials verify that the electromagnetic stirring intensity of austenitic stainless steel should be higher than that of plain carbon steel. Electromagnetic stirring has somewhat affected the macrostructure of austenitic stainless steel even if the magnetic flux density of the electromagnetic stirring reaches 90 mT （amplitude reaches 141 mT ） in average at frequency f=3-4Hz, which provides a reference for the optimization of design and process parameters when applying the rotary electromagnetic stirrer.

Revealing the influential mechanism of electromagnetic vibration on the bulk solidification and the upward continuous casting of Cu-15Ni-8Sn Alloy

The effect of electromagnetic vibration(EMV)on the solidification structure of Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloy during bulk solidification and the upward continuous casting was investigated experimentally and numerically.The bulk solidification results indicated that in the case of B=0.5 T and J=1.27×10^(5)A/m^(2),the most effective grain refinement frequency was at f=10 Hz,where fine non-dendrites were obtained.The solidification structure became coarser at f=0.1 Hz and f=1 Hz compared to the case of f=10 Hz,while no grain refinement was observed at f=100 Hz.The numerical simulations showed that at f=10 Hz,the strong melt convection surrounding the primary solid phase promotes the diffusion of the rejected solute,consequently,resulting in a reduction of the solute boundary layer,which leads to the decrease in the nucleation-free zone(NFZ)and the grain refinement.Additionally,the most effective grain refinement frequency transformed to 1 Hz when the electromagnetic force was reduced by five times.Moreover,we proposed that the most effective grain refinement frequency range aligns with the EMV-induced relative displacement in the range of 10^(2)–10^(3)μm.Finally,the upward continuous casting was conducted to validate the relative displacement range,and the experimental results matched well.

Effects of vertical electromagnetic stirring on grain refinement and macrosegregation control of bearing steel billet in continuous casting

The grain refinement and macrosegregation control of GCrl5 bearing steel were investigated under a type of rarely-used electromagnetic stirring, vertical electromagnetic stirring （V-EMS）, in continuous casting. V-EMS can create an upward electromagnetic force and generate longitudinal loop convection, which ena- bles the better mixing of the upper part with the lower part of the liquid steel. The results showed that ap- plying V-EMS can enlarge the region of the equiaxed grain, decrease the secondary dendrite arm spacing （SDAS） and reduce the segregation of both carbon and sulfur. After applying V-EMS, liquid steel with a high solute concentration is brought to the dendrite tips, making the dendrite arms partially melt. The length of the dendrite fragment is approximately 1.8 mm, 10 to 12 times the SDAS. Upon increasing the amount of cooling water from 2.0 to 3.5 m3/h, the dendrite fragments exhibit an obvious aggregation fol- lowing V-EMS. Finally, a criterion for dendrite fragmentation under V-EMS was derived based on the dendrite fragmentation theory of Campanella et al.

Solute Distribution in Columnar Crystal Zone and Influences of Correlative Factors for Continuous Casting Slabs

The expression of the solute distribution in columnar crystal zone was deduced when the solid-liquid interface bended periodically, and the quantitative calculations of macrosegregation were also made in the process of the continuous casting. The solute distribution along the thickness direction of the slabs was obtained, which verified the theoretical calculation. The effect of the bulge size, solidification speed, and solidification shrinkage speed on macrosegregation of the slabs was calculated. It can be concluded that normal segregation and negative segregation alternatively appear as a result of the bulge. The normal segregation exponentially depends on the bulge size, and the negative segregation linearly depends on the bulge size. The extent of the normal segregation is greater than that of the negative segregation when the bulge size is the same. The macrosegregation of the same position along the thickness direction of the slabs changes in a sine wave with increasing the solidification rate, and the amplitude is larger at the casting blank center. The normal segregation linearly decreases with increasing the solidification shrinkage speed, and when the solidification shrinkage speed exceeds a critical value, the segregation appears negatively and increases linearly.

Solidification Structure of Continuous Casting Large Round Billets under Mold Electromagnetic Stirring

The solidification structure of a continuous casting large round billet was analyzed by a cellular-automaton-finite-element coupling model using the ProCAST software. The actual and simulated solidification structures were compared under mold electromagnetic stirring （MEMS） conditions （current of 300 A and frequency of 3 Hz）. Thereafter, the solidification structures of the large round billet were investigated under different superheats, casting speeds, and secondary cooling intensities. Finally, the effect of the MEMS current on the solidification structures was obtained under fixed superheat, casting speed, secondary cooling intensity, and MEMS frequency. The model accurately simulated the actual solidification structures of any steel, regardless of its size and the parameters used in the continuous casting process. The ratio of the central equiaxed grain zone was found to increase with decreasing superheat, increasing casting speed, decreasing secondary cooling intensity, and increasing MEMS current. The grain size obviously decreased with decreasing superheat and increasing MEMS current but was less sensitive to the casting speed and secondary cooling intensity.

Microstructure quantification of Cu-4.7Sn alloys prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting and a BP artificial neural network model for microstructure prediction

Microstructures of Cu-4.7Sn(%) alloys prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting(TZCC)technology contain large columnar grains and small grains.A compound grain structure,composed of a large columnar grain and at least one small grain within it,is observed and called as grain-covered grains(GCGs).Distribution of small grains,their numbers and sizes as well as numbers and sizes of columnar grains were characterized quantitatively by metallographic microscope.Back propagation(BP) artificial neural network was employed to build a model to predict microstructures produced by different processing parameters.Inputs of the model are five processing parameters,which are temperatures of melt,mold and cooling water,speed of TZCC,and cooling distance.Outputs of the model are nine microstructure quantities,which are numbers of small grains within columnar grains,at the boundaries of the columnar grains,or at the surface of the alloy,the maximum and the minimum numbers of small grains within a columnar grain,numbers of columnar grains with or without small grains,and sizes of small grains and columnar grains.The model yields precise prediction,which lays foundation for controlling microstructures of alloys prepared by TZCC.

Computational algorithms for simulating the grain structure formed on steel billets using cellular automaton and chaos theories

The development of some computational algorithms based on cellular automaton was described to simulate the structures formed during the solidification of steel products.The algorithms described take results from the steel thermal behavior and heat removal previously calculated using a simulator developed by present authors in a previous work.Stored time is used for displaying the steel transition from liquid to mushy and solid.And it is also used to command computational subroutines that reproduce nucleation and grain growth.These routines are logically programmed using the programming language C＋＋ and are based on a simultaneous solution of numerical methods （stochastic and deterministic） to create a graphical representation of different grain structures formed.The grain structure obtained is displayed on the computer screen using a graphical user interface （GUI）.The chaos theory and random generation numbers are included in the algorithms to simulate the heterogeneity of grain sizes and morphologies.

Effects of the precipitation of stabilizers on the mechanism of grain fracturing in a zirconia metering nozzle

The mechanism of grain fracturing in a zirconia metering nozzle used in the continuous casting process was studied. The phase composition, microstructure, and chemical composition of the residual samples were studied using an X-ray fluorescence analyzer, scanning electron microscope, and electron probe. Results revealed that the composition, structure, and mineral phase of the original layer, transition layer, and affected layer of the metering nozzle differed because of stabilizer precipitation and steel slag permeation. The stabilizer MgO formed low-melting phases with steel slag and impure SiO2 on the boundaries（pores） of zirconia grains; consequently, grain fracturing occurred and accelerated damage to the metering nozzle was observed.

铁素体不锈钢430连续铸造板坯成形合理工艺参数的研究

目的以某钢厂板厚为180~220 mm的铁素体不锈钢430连铸板坯为对象,研究合理的板坯连铸工艺参数,以提高不锈钢430连铸坯的等轴晶率,强化铸坯质量。方法通过高温拉伸试验、结晶器凝固冷却温度分析以及电磁搅拌磁感应强度模拟,探讨了液体加热温度、结晶器冷却水参数及电磁搅拌参数等工艺参数对连铸坯质量的影响规律。结果高温拉伸试验结果表明,430不锈钢在不同温度下的应力-应变曲线都是典型的塑性拉伸曲线,当温度超过1000℃后,抗拉强度显著减小;在结晶器宽面水量3400 L/min、窄面水量400 L/min的参数条件下,结晶器宽面及窄面铜板温度均匀,满足铸坯成形要求;在扇形1段第6^(#)和7^(#)辊位并列增加电磁搅拌辊后,430不锈钢铸坯电磁场分布合理且铸坯中心磁感应强度最大,为0.104 T,平均磁感应强度为0.09 T,显著提升了液相穴内钢水的流动性。结论在结晶器宽面水量为3400 L/min、窄面水量为400 L/min条件下,在连铸机扇形1段第6^(#)和7^(#)辊位并列增加电磁搅拌辊后,对430不锈钢进行连续铸造工业试验,铁素体不锈钢430板坯等轴晶率达到62.5%,裂纹发生率降低。

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.

半固态连铸过程拉漏(断)机理研究

利用自行设计制造的半固态连铸机对Ｆｅ－Ｃｒ－Ｃ系及Ｆｅ－Ｍｎ－Ｃ系合金进行了半固态连铸试验。着重研究了工艺参数对拉漏及拉断现象的影响，探讨了拉漏拉断的条件及机理，提出了防止拉漏拉断的技术途径。

连铸过程中超声细晶技术研究

研究了Al-1%Si合金水平连铸过程中施加功率超声对铸坯凝固组织的影响,并对其机理进行了探讨。实验结果表明,随着超声波功率的提高,铸坯凝固组织得到了细化,同时Si元素晶界偏析得到了抑制。理论分析认为当功率超声频率为22.3kHz时,能够发生空化效应的最大空化泡半径为1.02×10-4m,且随着超声功率的增加,空化泡数量增多。空化泡崩溃时产生局部高温高压,从而导致晶粒细化,改善了Si元素的分布情况。