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.

Dynamic Modeling and Experiment of a New Type of Parallel Servo Press Considering Gravity Counterbalance

The large capacity servo press is traditionally realized by means of redundant actuation, however there exist the over-constraint problem and interference among actuators, which increases the control difficulty and the product cost. A new type of press mechanism with parallel topology is presented to develop the mechanical servo press with high stamping capacity. The dynamic model considering gravity counterbalance is proposed based on the virtual work principle, and then the effect of counterbalance cylinder on the dynamic performance of the servo press is studied. It is found that the motor torque required to operate the press is a lot less than the others when the ratio of the counterbalance force to the gravity of ram is in the vicinity of 1.0. The stamping force of the real press prototype can reach up to 25 MN on the position of 13 mm away from the bottom dead center. The typical deep-drawing process with 1 200 mm stroke at 8 strokes per minute is proposed by means of five order polynomial. On this process condition, the driving torques are calculated based on the above dynamic model and the torque measuring test is also carried out on the prototype. It is shown that the curve trend of calculation torque is consistent to the measured result and that the average error is less than 15%. The parallel mechanism is introduced into the development of large capacity servo press to avoid the over-constraint and interference of traditional redundant actuation, and its dynamic characteristics with gravity counterbalance are presented.

Precipitation and decomposition behaviors of carbides in AISI M2 high-speed steel with nitrogen and mischmetal

The behaviors of the precipitation and decomposition of carbides in AISI M2 high-speed steel modified by nitrogen and mischmetal were investigated using DSC, XRD, SEM and TEM. The as-cast microstructure of the experimental steel consists of dendrites of iron matrix, networks of eutectic carbides and secondary carbides. The average distance between networks is about 34 μm. The carbides mainly include M_2C, M(C,N) and M_6C, and their relative contents are 58.5%, 30.3% and 11.2%, respectively. The average spacing between the M_2C fibers is 1.5 μm. The decomposition of M_2C occurs from 897.2 to 1221.5 ℃(heating rate of 200 ℃/h). Some precipitated carbide particles occur in the M_2C matrix after holding for 15 min at 1100 ℃. With increasing holding time, the carbide fibers neck down more and more obviously until they are broken down. The spectral peaks of M_2C almost disappear after holding for 60 min. The spectral peaks of M_6C gradually strengthen with the holding time, and the relative content of M_6C increases to 79.8% after holding for 60 min. After holding for 180 min, the carbide fibers disappear, and the decomposition products consist of fine carbide particles(about 300 nm) and short rod-like carbides(about 3.5 μm).

Deformation characteristics of mechanical expanding of thin-walled cylindrical parts

Mechanical expanding is one of the finishing processes in cylindrical part forming. The distribution of stress and strain shows clearly regional features. FEA simulation and experiments show that the deformation process can be divided into three phases called as rounding phase, expanding phase and unloading phase in turn, in which the main types of deformation are wall bending, circumference elongating and thickness reducing, and spring back respectively. And the longitudinal section can be divided into three portions: expanding region, transition region and rigid region. The plastic deformation occurs regionally in suspended portion. A regional convex in transitional portion is inevitable.

Effect of grain boundary sliding on the toughness of ultrafine grain structure steel: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the mechanisms of low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel. The simulation results suggest that the sliding of the {001 }/{ 110} type and { 110}/{ 111 } type grain boundary can improve the impact toughness. Then, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding is studied and it is found that the motion of dislocations along the grain boundary is the underlying cause of the grain boundary sliding. Finally, the sliding of the grain boundary is analyzed from the standpoint of the energy. We conclude that the measures which can increase the quantity of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{ 111} type grain boundary and elongate the free gliding distance of dislocations along these grain boundaries will improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel.

Numerical simulation and model of control-efficiency of thermal crown of work rolls in cold rolling

Aiming at accuracy control of the thermal crown of work rolls in cold rolling,new parameters such as regulation domain and control-efficiency factors were proposed and a numerical analysis model of the thermal crown of work rolls was established using finite difference method to study roll's thermal deformation.Based on simulation results,the influences of control-efficiency factors on thermal crown are presented and the thermal crown of work rolls is analyzed after taking sub-cooling of sprinkling beam into consideration.It has been found that the control-efficiency factor of any position on the roll's surface is linear function of the temperature and the control ability of water temperature is stronger than other control parameters.In addition,the verification of the model has been carried out based on the producing technology data in some factories and the numerical simulation results coincide well with the experimental data.Therefore,this work has important value for on-line control of roll's crown in cold rolling.

Phase and CCT Diagram of an N-Containing 8%Cr Roller Steel

The pseudo-equilibrium phase diagram and continuous cooling transformation diagram of an N-containing 8％ Cr roller steel were investigated by using thermodynamic calculation,differential scanning calorimetry,Ⅹ-ray diffraction,expansion method,and so on.Under equilibrium conditions,the main carbonitrides are MX,M7C3,and M23C6 types.The measured Ac1,Ac3,start temperature of martensitic transformation,and M7C3 transformation temperatures are 811,855,324,and 1100 ℃,respectively.Bainite appears at cooling rates ranging from 0.5 to 5 ℃/s and ferrite forms at grain boundaries at a cooling rate lower than 0.5 ℃/s.Finally,the effects of adding N and lowering the C content on workability and mechanical properties of common 8％Cr steel were discussed.

Fluid Flow and Inclusion Motion in a Multi-Heat Teeming Tundish for Heavy Steel Ingot

Besides the function of molten steel supply in the casting process, tundish has a capability of decreasing the formation of macro-scale inclusions and promoting the flotation of the remaining inclusions. Both the round shape tundish and the elliptical shape tundish were studied for the multi-heat teeming ingot. The transportation of molten steel and the motion of inclusions were compared using numerical simulation and physical modeling. The results showed that the short molten steel residence time, the large dead volume, and the low efficiency in inclusion removal for the round shape tundish were obtained even when a flow control device was installed. After comparing the two kinds of tundishes with the same capacity, it indicated that in the elliptical shape tundish, the molten steel residence time was prolonged by 1, 6 times and the mean residence time increased by 6%; the dead volume was decreased from 18% to 13%, the ratio of the plug volume to the dead volume increased by 68 %, and the inclusion flotation efficiency increased by 17%. The trial results indicated that, after using the elliptical tundish, the equivalent diameter of single defect was decreased from 2.5 to 1.6 mm, and no intensity defect was observed. The total oxygen content was 21 × 10^-6 , which was decreased by 30%.

Numerical Investigation on Residual Stresses of the Safe-End/Nozzle Dissimilar Metal Welded Joint in CAP1400 Nuclear Power Plants

The residual stress evolution in a safe-end/nozzle dissimilar metal welded joint of CAP1400 nuclear power plants was investigated in the manufacturing process by finite element simulation. A finite element model, including cladding,buttering, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) and dissimilar metal multi-pass welding, is developed based on SYSWELD software to investigate the evolution of residual stress in the aforementioned manufacturing process. The results reveal a large tensile axial residual stress, which exists at the weld zone on the inner surface, leads to a high sensitivity to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). PWHT process before dissimilar metal multi-pass welding process has a great in?uence on the magnitude and distribution of final axial residual stress. The risk of SCC on the inner surface of the pipe will increase if PWHT process is not taken into account. Therefore, such crucial thermal manufacturing process such as cladding, buttering and post-weld heat treatment, besides the multi-pass welding process, should be considered in the numerical model in order to accurately predict the distribution and the magnitude of the residual stress.

Effect of Preheating Temperature on Surface Cracking of High Nitrogen CrMn Austenitic Stainless Steel

18Mn18Cr0.5N steel specimens were preheated at the temperatures from 1100 to 1250°C for 5 min,and then cooled to 950°C and compressed.The cracking behaviors were investigated using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The results showed that the hot workability of 18Mn18Cr0.5N steel gradually decreased with increasing preheating temperature between 1100 and 1200°C,and quickly deteriorated up to 1250°C.Above 1200°C,delta ferrite particles appeared in 18Mn18Cr0.5N steel,promoted cavity coalescence on grain boundary,and accelerated surface crack formation during the hot working process.

δ-ferrite transformation mechanism and its effect on mechanical properties of 316H weld metal

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the 316 H stainless steel weld metals with different C contents were studied at the aging temperature of 550℃ for different aging holding time.The transformation behavior of δ-ferrite and precipitation mechanisms of M(23)C6 and σ phase in the as-aged weld metal were investigated.The results indicated that for the as-welded weld metal,with increasing C content,the yield and tensile strengths increased,while the elongation decreased owing to the increase of C solid solution strengthening effect.Moreover,both the high δ-ferrite content in low C weld metal and the precipitated M(23)C6 carbide in high C weld metal deteriorated the impact energy obviously.During the aging process,the rapid precipitation of M(23)C6 carbide occurred in σ-ferrite firstly owing to the high diffusion rate of C.Once the carbon is depleted by precipitation of M(23)C6,the slow formation of σ phase occurred through eutectoid transformation(δ→σ+γ) depending on the diffusion of Cr and Mo.Moreover,increasing C content promoted the formation of M(23)C6 carbides and inhibited the formation of σ phase.Therefore,increasing C content accelerated the transformation of σ ferrite in weld metal during aging process.Furthermore,after a long enough aging time,a transformation from M(23)C6 to σ occurred.The variations of mechanical properties with aging conditions depended to a large extent on the microstructures at different aging conditions.For the low C weld metal aged at 550℃,with the increase of the aging time,fine M(23)C6 first precipitated,then coarsened,after that σ phase formed,which caused that the yield and tensile strengths first increased,then decreased,and finally increased slightly again.For the medium C weld metal,as the aging time increased,first the depletion of the solid solution C as a result the M(23)C6 precipitation deteriorated the strength,and then the formation of σ phase improved the strength.For the high C weld metal,with the increase of the aging time,the depletion of the solid solution C and the coarsening of the M(23)C6 precipitates deteriorated the strength.Furthermore,with increasing aging time,both the precipitation and coarsening of M(23)C6 and increasing σ phase content deteriorated the elongation and impact ene rgy.

Hot Deformation Behavior of As-cast AISI M2 High-speed Steel Containing Mischmetal

The hot deformation behavior of as-cast AISI M2 high-speed steel containing mischmetal （RE） has been investigated on a Gleeble-3500 simulator in the temperature range of 1000--1 150 ℃ and strain rate range of 0.01- 10 s 1 at true strain of 1.0. The mechanical behavior has been characterized using stress-strain curve analysis, kinetic analysis, processing maps, etc. Metallographic investigation was performed to evaluate the mechanism of flow insta- bility. The results show that the deformation activation energy decreases with increasing deformation temperature; the efficiency of power dissipation increases with decreasing strain rate and increasing temperature; flow instability is observed at low-to-medium temperature and higher strain rate region when the strain is smaller, but extends to lower strain rate and high temperature regions with the increment of strain, in which it is manifested as flow localization near the grain boundary. Hot deformation equations and processing maps are obtained. The optimal processing window is suggested and the deformation mechanism is dynamic recrystallization （DRX）.

Effect of Carbon Content on the Creep Rupture Properties and Microstructure of 316H Weld Metals

Two types of 316 butt welds with carbon contents of 0.016%and 0.062%have been produced using the gas tungsten arc welding process.Theδ-ferrite content decreased from 7.2 to 2.8%in volume as the carbon content increased.The creeprupture strength and creep ductility of the two types of weld metals have been measured at 550℃over the stress range of 290-316 MPa and at 600℃over 230-265 MPa.The microstructure change and precipitation behavior of the weld metals were observed and related to the creep rupture properties.The creep rupture strength of the C2(0.062%C)weld metal was higher than that of the Cl(0.016%C)weld metal at both 550℃and 600℃.At 550℃,as the decrease in the applied stress,the difference of the creep-rupture life between the two weld metals diminished due to the higher depletion rate of carbon by precipitation of M_(23)C_(6) in the C2 weld metal,while at 600℃,the difference enlarged due to the massive precipitation ofσphase and extensive crack formation and propagation alongσ/austenite boundaries in the C1 weld metal.For both the C1 and C2 weld metal,the decrease in ductility was adverse with the transformation percentage and related to products of theδ-ferrite transformation.

Evaluation and improvement of pearlite microstructure and mechanical properties in 45Cr4NiMoV and 50Cr5NiMoV steels

The microstructure and mechanical properties of pearlite in 45Cr4NiMoV and 50Cr5NiMoV steels were studied and compared.The microstructural characteristics of pearlite of two steels were carefully examined by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and the type,size and relative amount of extracted carbide particles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and TEM coupled with selected area electron diffraction.The hardness,tensile property,impact and fracture toughness of pearlite of two steels were also evaluated.Besides,the carbide dissolution kinetics of 45Cr4NiMoV and 50Cr5NiMoV steels were clarified.The results indicated that the carbides in 50Cr5NiMoV steel exhibited higher dissolution temperature than those in 45Cr4NiMoV steel,which induced different morphologies of pearlite after eutectoid transformation.Compared to the pearlite with lamellar M_(23)C_(6)carbides in 45Cr4NiMoV steel,the pearlite with the mixture of spheroidized M_(7)C_(3)and lamellar M_(23)C_(6)carbides in 50Cr5NiMoV steel possessed higher impact and plane-strain fracture toughness but lower hardness and strength,because different pearlite morphologies led to different mechanical properties.In order to further improve the comprehensive properties of the steels,the fraction of M_(7)C_(3)for the material with acceptable properties was examined and dissolution kinetic of M_(7)C_(3)was calculated.Therefore,the austenitizing temperature and holding time could be appropriately selected to keep enough undissolved M_(7)C_(3)in the steels.

Investigation on bonding interfaces of an SA508 steel billet manufactured by additive forging

An experimental steel billet of SA508 reactor pressure vessel material was manufactured by the additive forging method,and microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot-compression bonding interface were systematically investigated.The result indicated that oxidation levels of bonding interfaces were well controlled using vacuum electron beam welding.It was easy to discriminate interfaces from base materials during the optical microstructure observation,since interfaces were characterized by grain or phase boundaries in a straight line.Test results of uniaxial tensile experiments(at 20 and 350°C)and Charpy V-notched impact tests(at 0 and 20°C)showed that fracture behaviour of all those samples appeared at the base material,and bonding interfaces showed advantage of strength and toughness at the forge bonding state.