Canadian and French university teams have joined efforts in carrying out an experimental and theoretical study of the dissolution behavior of the hard-alpha inclusion in liquid titanium alloys. Synthetic hard-alpha dense particles of up to 6 wt pct nitrogen and nitrided sponge of up to 15 wt pct nitrogen were partially dissolved in a titanium or a titanium alloy bath. The metallographic examinations and microprobe analysis show that the dissolution process is always controlled by the outward diffusion of nitrogen into the bath through an external layer of beta phase. The growth of this beta phase layer depends on the velocity of liquid flow in the bath and can lead to an initial increase in the inclusion size. For porous particles, the diffusion of nitrogen from the pellet matrix to the infiltrations gradually leads to a partial densification of the inclusion. A numerical representation of the dissolution problem was developed, including the transient diffusion of nitrogen through intermediate solid phases. The comparison is good between the numerical simulations, the experimental measurements, and the dissolution kinetics given in the literature.
As part of a complete theoretical description of the behaviour of the electric arc in the vacuum arc remelting process, a model has been developed for the column of plasma generated by a single cluster of cathode spots. The model combines a kinetic approach, taking into account the formation of the plasma in the cathodic region, and a hydrodynamic approach, describing the expansion of the plasma in the vacuum between the electrodes. The kinetic model is based on a system of Boltzmann-Vlasov-Poisson equations and uses a particle-type simulation procedure, combining the PIC (particle in cell) and FPM (finite point set method) methods. In the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, the plasma is assimilated to a mixture of two continuous fluids (the electrons and the ions), each described by a system of coupled transport equations. Finally, a simplified method has been defined for calculating the electric current density and the energy flux density transmitted by the plasma to the anode. The results of the numerical simulation presented are consistent with a certain number of experimental data available in the literature. In particular, the model predicts a percentage of the electric power of the cluster transmitted to the anode (25%) in good agreement with the value indicated in the literature.
The electron beam cold hearth melting (EBCHM) process has emerged as either an alternative or a complement to vacuum arc remelting, since it is capable of enhancing the elimination of hard-alpha inclusions by dissolution or sedimentation. The present article describes the use of a mathematical model to simulate the electron beam melting of titanium in a cold hearth. The mathematical model is based on the numerical solution of the coupled momentum, solute, and heat transport equations in a transient regime for a three dimension geometry. The model calculates the velocity, turbulence intensity, temperature, and alloy composition in the liquid and the solid phases. The calculation provides the overall heat balance and the volatilization of metallic elements such as aluminum. A postprocessor numerical tool simulates also the behavior of a hard-alpha inclusion during melting (trajectory and kinetics of dissolution). In order to demonstrate the usefulness of this model, the authors examine the influence of the casting rate and of the beam scanning frequency on the volatilization of aluminum and on the capacity of the process to remove hard-alpha defects.
The treatment of liquid metal in gas-stirred ladles has long been identified as the main process responsible for the inclusion cleanness in special steels. Four university teams and three steels developers have combined their efforts through a project, supported by French National Research Agency, in order to improve the understanding of the complex mechanisms involved during the ladle treatment. In this paper, the contribution of the Institut Jean Lamour to this program, that bears the acronym CIREM, is presented. Using a commercial CFD code as a basis, a three-dimensional simulation model is developed that includes the geometry and industrial operating conditions. The hydrodynamics of the turbulent metal/bubbles mixture is well represented along with the coupled mechanisms of transport, aggregation and surface entrapment of inclusions.
The reduction of the weight of high performance materials together with the improvement of mechanical properties and the increase of the recycling of used metal are new challenges which emphasize the importance of metal cleanliness. Ladle treatment of specialty steels has long been described as the secondary metallurgical process mainly responsible for the non-metallic inclusion derived from the deoxidation process. The treatment is accomplished by blowing argon through one or more porous plugs for the purposes of desulfurization, minor composition adjustments, and inclusion removal. Gas injection is applied on routine basis to achieve both the stirring of the liquid bath (thermal and chemical homogenization) and the entrapment of the inclusions by the bubbles (flotation). Furthermore, the turbulence produced in bubble swarms enhances the probability of inclusion collisions and makes aggregation the first mechanism for particle removal. The physical processes involved in gas stirred ladles are numerous and complex owing to the three dimensional and multiphase (metal-gas and inclusions) nature of the reactor. Despite these difficulties, the population balance equations (PBEs) can be implemented in CFD code [1,2] and combined CFD-PBM (computational fluid dynamicspopulation balance method) models are investigated for steel ladle processes [3,4] and produce very promising results in terms of inclusion removal efficiency. Current research focused on the mathematical formulation of the system and an approach, the quadrature method of moments (QMOM), has been formulated and applied. [5] A natural alternative of the QMOM is the classes method (CM) in which the particle size distribution (PSD) is represented through a finite number of inclusion classes. [6] Very few authors [7][8][9][10] implemented these two techniques in CFD code with the aim of discussing their relative advantages and disadvantages. It should be noted that all of the simulation were performed for a 2D (or more recently 3D) gas-bubble or liquid-liquid reactor and comparison applied to ladle treatment is nonexistent in literature. Therefore the main focus of this work is to simulate the behavior of non-metallic inclusions in an industrial gasThe ladle treatment of liquid steel is mainly responsible for the steel cleanliness, since it generates as well as eliminates most of the oxide inclusions. Today, the combination of computational fluid dynamics and population balance modeling makes the numerical simulation of this complex threephase reactor possible. First, the comprehensive three-dimensional turbulent multiphase flow model is developed to study the behavior of argon bubbles in liquid steel based on the geometry and operating conditions corresponding to the real industrial process. This simulation is validated by comparing the calculated mixing time with the experimental value predicted from ladle sampling. Then, the balanced equation for a population of oxide inclusions with aggregation mechanism is coupled with the hydrodynamic modeling. To obtain ...
The removal of inclusions by flotation in mechanically agitated vessels is widely used in liquid aluminum treatments. Originating from different sources (oxide skins, refractory, or recycling wastes), inclusions may have disastrous repercussions such as deterioration of the physical properties of the cast products or difficulties during forging processes. With the aim of both a better understanding of the physical processes acting during flotation and the optimization of the refining process, a mathematical modeling of the behavior of the population of inclusions has been set up. Transport phenomena, agglomeration of inclusions, and flotation are considered here. The model combines population balance with convective transport of the inclusions, in order to calculate the time evolution of the inclusion size distribution. An operator-splitting technique is employed to solve the coupled population balance equation (PBE) and the transport equation. The transport equation is solved using a finite volume technique associated with a total variation diminishing scheme, whereas the PBE resolution relies on the fixed pivot technique developed by Kumar and Ramkrishna. A laboratory-scale flotation vessel is modeled and the results of a two-dimensional (2-D) simulation are presented.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.