The effect of bulk nucleation parameters on the formation of macroscopic grain of the large-scale titanium slab ingot during EBCHM

The application of single electron beam cold hearth melting (EBCHM) to the production of large-scale rectangular titanium ingots has the potential to produce high-quality titanium strip coils and achieve significant cost reductions. In this study, multi-scale modelling of macroscopic grain formation in large-scale titanium slab ingots during EBCHM was carried out, by combining the finite element (FE) method on the macroscale with a cellular automaton (CA) model on the microscale. The effects of bulk nucleation parameters on the formation of macroscopic grains were studied, and the predictions arising from simulations were compared with experimental results. Based on the nucleation parameters that were investigated, the process parameters could be optimised during EBCHM to achieve a solidification structure favourable for rolling.