Numerical Investigation and Experimental Validation of Motion and Distribution of Nonmetallic Inclusions in Argon Protection Electroslag Remelting Process

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A comprehensive transient model is developed to study the effect of electrode rotation on the evolution of metal pool profiles and the solidification quality of ESR ingots. Magnetohydrodynamic flow, heat transfer, solidification, and electrode melting are considered simultaneously in the model. The growth of the ESR ingot is predicted using the dynamic layering method. The numerical results show that the productivity reaches a maximum of 15.97% at the rotating speed of 40 rpm without increasing power. With the increasing rotating speed, the maximum temperature of the melt decreases, and the temperature distribution becomes more uniform. Compared with the static one, the pool profiles are flattened by −1.19%, −8.52%, and 12.44% at the rotating speeds of 20, 40, and 60 rpm, respectively. The metal pool profile was improved remarkably, but only at the higher speed (i.e., 60 rpm). The effect of rotating speed on the metal pool profile depends on the competition between the melting rate and slag temperature. Meanwhile, the local solidification time and the secondary dendrite arm spacing are slightly improved at lower rotating speeds but are significantly worse at higher rotating speeds.

Section: Governing Equationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Electrode Rotation on Improvement of Metal Pool Profile in Electroslag Remelting Process

Huang

Duan

Liu

et al. 2021

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“…[16,17]. Details of the liquid-metal and slag-layer properties, geometry, and operating parameters used in the simulation are listed in Table 1 [8,9,12,18,19].…”

Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulation on Motion Behavior of Inclusions in the Lab-Scale Electroslag Remelting Process with a Vibrating Electrode

Wang

Sun

Liu

et al. 2021

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In order to meet the requirement of high-quality ingots, the vibrating electrode technique in the electroslag remelting (ESR) process has been proposed. Non-metallic inclusions in ingots may cause serious defects and deteriorate mechanical properties of final products. Moreover, the dimension, number and distribution of non-metallic inclusions should be strictly controlled during the ESR process in order to produce high-quality ingots. A transient 2-D coupled model is established to analyze the motion behavior of inclusions in the lab-scale ESR process with a vibrating electrode, especially under the influence of the vibration frequency, current, slag layer thickness, and filling ratio, as well as type and diameter of inclusions. Simulation model of inclusions motion behavior is established based on the Euler-Lagrange approach. The continuous phase including metal and slag, is calculated based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method, and the trajectory of inclusions is tracked with the discrete phase model (DPM). The vibrating electrode is simulated by the user-defined function and dynamic mesh. The results show that when the electrode vibration frequency is 0.25 Hz or 1 Hz, the inclusions will gather on one side of the slag layer. When it increases from 0.25 Hz to 1 Hz, the removal ratio of 10 μm and 50 μm inclusions increases by 5% and 4.1%, respectively. When the current increases from 1200 A to 1800 A, the flow following property of inclusions in the slag layer becomes worse. The removal ratio of inclusions reaches the maximum value of 92% with the current of 1500 A. The thickness of slag layer mainly affects the position of inclusions entering the liquid-metal pool. As the slag layer thickens, the inclusions removal ratio increases gradually from 82.73% to 85.91%. As the filling ratio increases, the flow following property of inclusions in the slag layer is enhanced. The removal ratio of 10 μm inclusions increases from 94.82% to 97%. However, for inclusions with a diameter of 50 μm, the maximum removal ratio is 96.04% with a filling ratio of 0.46. The distribution of 50 μm inclusions is significantly different, while the distribution of 10 μm inclusions is almost similar. Because of the influence of a vibrating electrode, 10 μm Al2O3 and MnO have a similar removal ratios of 81.33% and 82.81%, respectively.

“…VOF is used to track the motion of a free surface. In this model, air and steel share the same set of equations; as a result, the filter density ρ and velocity u i are no longer constants [28]. In the VOF model, all the physical parameters in the interface can be described as the weighting of the volume fraction for each phase.…”

Section: Vof Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Electromagnetic Frequency on the Flow Behavior in Mold during Bloom Casting

Wang

et al. 2021

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Considering solidification, a large eddy simulation (LES) model of two-phase flow was established to simulate the thermal–magnetic flow coupled fields inside a jumbo bloom. The magnetic field was calculated based on Maxwell’s equations, constitutive equations, and Ohm’s law. An enthalpy–porosity technique was used to model the solidification of the steel. The movement of the free surface was described by the volume of fluid (VOF) approach. With the effect of electromagnetic stirring (MEMS), the vortices in the bloom tended to be strip-like; large vortices mostly appeared in the injection zone, while small ones were found near the surface of the bloom. It is newly found that even though the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) is asymmetrical about the bloom, a biased flow can also be found under the effect of MEMS. The reason for this phenomenon is because the magnetic force is asymmetrical and transient. A high frequency will reduce the period of biased flow; however, the frequency should not be too high because it could also intensify meniscus fluctuations and thus entrap slag droplets in the mold. The velocity near the solidification front can also be increased with a higher frequency.