Microstructure evolution in large billet during reduction pretreatment based on laboratory experiments

The reduction pretreatment process has been proposed to improve the center quality of large billet and reduce the rolling ratio.The microstructure evolution during the reduction pretreatment was further understood.The austenite grains were refined after the reduction pretreatment experiment,especially those at the center of the billet.The effects of strain and strain rate on the average grain size were dependent on the deformation temperature.At a strain rate of 0.01 s-1 and 1200°C,the newly formed strain-free austenite grains grew very fast as the strain continued to increase,which resulted in the coarsening of austenite grains.The calculation results of the microstructure evolution model showed that at the same deformation temperature,the evolution curves of average grain size with different strain rates had the intersection points.With the increase in temperature,the position of intersection point moved to the downward direction of strain.The simulation results showed that when the reduction amount increased to 20%,the average grain size at the center was smaller than that near the surface.It could be inferred that when the reduction amount greatly exceeded 20%,the dynamic recrystallization at the center was mostly completed,and the austenite grain growth would become the main mechanism.

Spray deposition for making large size billet with swing atomizer

The movement mode of the atomizer is a very important parameter during spray deposition process,which has direct influence on the size and surface texture of the billets. To resolve the problem of manufacturing large size billets,a method of spray deposition by the atomizer with off-center swing was put forward. The atomizer was driven by the alternating current servomotor to swing within 7° at varying speed. The influence of the atomizer parameters,such as translation of the atomizer,swing angle of the atomizer,substrate falling speed and spraying pressure,on the spray deposition was studied. The optimized parameters of the spray deposition process were obtained. The results show that the large size billets with uniform surface quality can be made through adjusting swing frequency and angle of the atomizer,offset distance of the atomizer and inclined angle of the substrate; the valid spray area will decrease and the dimension of top surface will reduce when pressure is less than 0.4 MPa within certain spray distance; meantime,the moving time and cooling time of the droplets are extended,which will lead to loose structure and bad densification. When the pressure,the swing angle and the eccentric offset of the atomization equal 0.5 MPa,7° and 60 mm,respectively,large size billets with fine texture and diameter of 500 mm can be produced.

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.