Heat-Transfer Behavior of Mold Fluxes for Continuous Casting of Invar Alloy

The heat-transfer behavior across mold fluxes for Invar alloy Fe-36Ni would introduce significant influence on the slab surface quality. A study on the heat-transfer property of mold flux film for Invar alloy Fe-36Ni was carried out by an interaction between laboratory simulation and field trial. The study results indicate that great effect on heat transfer across flux film is caused by chemical compositions of mold fluxes. An increase of basicity and CaF₂ content suppresses heat transfer across flux film; heat transfer across flux film increases when the Al₂O₃ content increases from 4 pct to 8 pct but decreases when Al₂O₃ content is above 8 pct. The crystalline phases of both the conventional mold fluxes and the improved mold fluxes are all cuspidine phases. However, crystallization capability of the improved mold fluxes decreases as the result of the increase of basicity and CaF₂ content as well as the decrease of Al₂O₃ content. The average thickness of flux film taken from mold is about 1.6 mm, and the crystalline fraction is only 21.4 pct. All these promote heat transfer across the flux film. The field trial of the improved mold fluxes shows that the properties of liquid slag are steady during continuous casting; comprehensive heat transfer across flux film meets the needs of continuous casting of Fe-36Ni. Border solidification structures of solidified shell are refined remarkably, and hot cracking gets avoidance eventually.     

Infiltration of Slag Film into the Grooves on a Continuous Casting Mold

An analytical model is developed to clarify the slag film infiltration into grooves on a copper mold during the continuous casting of steel slabs. A grooved-type casting mold was applied to investigate the infiltration of slag film into the grooves of a pitch of 0.8 mm, width of 0.7 mm, and depth of 0.6 mm at the vicinity of a meniscus. The plant trial tests were carried out at a casting speed of 5.5 m min^?1. The slag film captured at a commercial thin slab casting plant showed that both the overall and the liquid film thickness were decreased exponentially as the distance from the meniscus increases. In contrast, the infiltration of slag film into the grooves had been increased with increasing distance from the meniscus. A theoretic model has been derived based on the measured profile of slag film thickness to calculate the infiltration of slag film into the grooves. It successfully reproduces the empirical observation that infiltration ratio increased sharply along casting direction, about 80 pct at 50 mm and 95 pct at 150 mm below the meniscus. In the model calculation, the infiltration of slag film increases with increasing groove width and/or surface tension of the slag. The effect of groove depth is negligible when the width to depth ratio of the groove is larger than unity. It is expected that the developed model for slag film infiltration in this study will be widely utilized to optimize the design of groove dimensions in continuous casting molds.     

A 3D Mathematical Modeling on Meniscus Solidification and Heat Transfer in Continuous Casting Chamfered Mold of Slab

Herein, a 3D mathematical model is established to elucidate the meniscus solidification and heat transfer in the chamfered mold. The fluid flow, heat transfer, the solidification of steel, the oscillation of the mold, and the steel–slag interfacial tension are considered, and the meniscus behavior on different longitudinal sections and cross sections is discussed. Under the influence of the upper roll flow, the height of the steel level increases from submerged entry nozzle to narrow face, which affects the distribution of the oscillation mark on the surface of the shell. With the mold chamfer and two new corners, the thickness of the slag film at the corner 1 with angle of 123.7° is the largest, and the shell thickness is the smallest, which is related to the 3D profile of the meniscus near the corner. The largest heat flux is located at 10–14 mm below the initial level of liquid steel and is below 3.0 MW m⁻². The heat flux at the corner 1 with small obtuse angle is the smallest on the same cross section, indicating that small obtuse angle near the corner resulted in the low heat transfer.     

Study of the Effect of Mold Corner Shape on the Initial Solidification Behavior of Molten Steel Using Mold Simulator

The chamfered mold with a typical corner shape (angle between the chamfered face and hot face is 45 deg) was applied to the mold simulator study in this paper, and the results were compared with the previous results from a well-developed right-angle mold simulator system. The results suggested that the designed chamfered structure would increase the thermal resistance and weaken the two-dimensional heat transfer around the mold corner, causing the homogeneity of the mold surface temperatures and heat fluxes. In addition, the chamfered structure can decrease the fluctuation of the steel level and the liquid slag flow around the meniscus at mold corner. The cooling intensities at different longitudinal sections of shell are close to each other due to the similar time-average solidification factors, which are 2.392 mm/s^1/2 (section A-A: chamfered center), 2.372 mm/s^1/2 (section B-B: 135 deg corner), and 2.380 mm/s^1/2 (section D-D: face), respectively. For the same oscillation mark (OM), the heights of OM roots at different positions (profile L1 (face), profile L2 (135 deg corner), and profile L3 (chamfered center)) are very close to each other. The average value of height difference (H_D) between two OMs roots for L1 and L2 is 0.22 mm, and for L2 and L3 is 0.38 mm. Finally, with the help of metallographic examination, the shapes of different hooks were also discussed.     

连铸结晶器内渣膜形成及传热的研究现状

介绍了模拟结晶器内渣膜形成的实验方法, 综述了国内外学者在保护渣传热方面所做的研究工作, 包括固态渣膜的界面热阻、保护渣的导热系数、辐射传热以及渣膜的光学性质, 并提出了今后在渣膜形成及传热研究中有待进一步完善的内容和方向.现有的研究结果表明利用热丝法可以对渣膜的形成过程进行原位观察, 采用水冷铜探头法可以获取用于研究渣膜微观组织的固态渣膜样品.渣膜的界面热阻在0.0002~0.002 m2·K·W-1之间.在800℃以下, 保护渣的导热系数在1.0~2.0 W·m-1·K-1范围内, 且随温度的升高而逐渐增加.渣膜中的晶体一方面可以增加渣膜的界面热阻, 另一方面可以提高固态渣膜的反射率, 起到降低辐射热流的作用.此外, 过渡族金属氧化物的加入以及固态渣膜中弥散分布的微小颗粒也能改变渣膜的光学性质, 从而影响通过渣膜的辐射传热.      

Improvement of Castability and Surface Quality of Continuously Cast TWIP Slabs by Molten Mold Flux Feeding Technology

An innovative continuous casting process named POCAST (POSCO’s advanced CASting Technology) was developed based on molten mold flux feeding technology to improve both the productivity and the surface quality of cast slabs. In this process, molten mold flux is fed into the casting mold to enhance the thermal insulation of the meniscus and, hence, the lubrication between the solidifying steel shell and the copper mold. Enhancement of both the castability and the surface quality of high-aluminum advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) slabs is one of the most important advantages when the new process has been applied into the commercial continuous casting process. A trial cast of TWIP steel has been carried out using a 10-ton scale pilot caster and 100-ton scale and 250-ton scale commercial casters. The amount of mold flux consumption was more than 0.2 kg/m² in the new process, which is much larger than that in the conventional powder casting. Trial TWIP castings at both the pilot and the plant caster showed stable mold performances such as mold heat transfer. Also, cast slabs showed periodic/sound oscillation marks and little defects. The successful casting of TWIP steel has been attributed to the following characteristics of POCAST: dilution of the reactant by increasing the slag pool depth, enlargement of channel for slag film infiltration at meniscus by elimination of the slag bear, and decrease of apparent viscosity of the mold slag at meniscus by increasing the slag temperature.     

Oxygen Permeation of Partly Molten Slags

The conductivities, oxygen ion transference numbers, and oxygen permeation fluxes of NiO-30, 36, 42, and 48 wt pct Bi₂O₃, In₂O₃-30, 36, 42, and 48 wt pct Bi₂O₃, ZnO-15, 20, 25, and 30 wt pct Bi₂O₃, ZrV₂O₇-16, 20, 24, and 28 wt pct V₂O₅, and BiVO₄-5, 7, 10, and 12 wt pct V₂O₅ partly molten slags have been measured by using the four-probe DC, volumetric measurements of the faradaic efficiency, and gas flow techniques, respectively, under various temperatures and oxygen partial pressure gradients. Results indicate that in the ranges of slag layer thicknesses 1 to 5 mm and temperatures 923 K to 1173 K (650 °C to 900 °C), used in the present study, the overall oxygen permeation kinetics is controlled by both chemical diffusion and surface exchange reactions. The oxygen permeation fluxes (3 × 10^?9 to 9 × 10^?8 mol/cm² s) were found to increase with volume fraction of liquid. The oxygen ion transference number was found to be in the range 0.2 to 0.8. The ambipolar conductivity, characteristic thickness, and surface exchange coefficient were estimated to be in the ranges 1.1 × 10^?3 to 2.3 × 10^?1 S/cm, 2 × 10^?2 to 7 × 10^?2 cm, and 1.3 × 10^?6 to 2.1 × 10^?6 cm/s, respectively.     

Solid–Liquid Interfacial Energy of Solid Neopentylglycol Solution in Equilibrium with Neopentylglycol–Aminomethylpropanediol Eutectic Liquid

The grain boundary groove shapes for solid neopentylglycol solution (NPG-40 mol pct AMPD) in equilibrium with the neopentylglycol (NPG)–aminomethylpropanediol (AMPD) eutectic liquid (NPG-42.2 mol pct AMPD) have been directly observed using a horizontal linear temperature gradient apparatus. From the observed grain boundary groove shapes, the Gibbs–Thomson coefficient (Г) and solid–liquid interfacial energy (σ _SL) of solid NPG solution have been determined to be (7.4 ± 0.7) × 10^?8 K m and (6.4 ± 1.0) × 10^?3 J m^?2, respectively. The grain boundary energy of solid NPG solution has been determined to be (12.5 ± 1.0) × 10^?3 J m^?2 from the observed grain boundary groove shapes. The ratio of thermal conductivity of equilibrated eutectic liquid to thermal conductivity of solid NPG solution has also been determined to be 0.48.     

Substructure control by solidification control in cu crystals

In an attempt to systematically control dislocation substructure, seeded <111>Cu single crystals have been grown from the melt at rates from 1.1 to 730 cm/h. Soft and hard graphite molds are used, with the hard molds surrounded by graphite or firebrick sleeves. In this fashion mold wall characteristics are varied and mold thermal conductivity is changed from 27×10^?4 to 0.29×10^?4 (cgs units). An increase in growth rate over this range has little effect on random dislocation density, which remains about 1.5×10⁶ cm^?2. The increase does cause a decrease in dislocation cell size from about 5×10^?2 to 0.5×10^?2 cm. The decrease varies approximately as (freezing rate)^?1/2 in agreement with the dislocation half-loop model of dislocation generation. An increase of mold thermal conductivity of a factor of 100 has little effect on random density, but causes a 50 to 300 pct increase in cell size. Crystals grown in soft molds have a random density about one-half those grown in hard molds. The cell size is comparable to that obtained with firebricked-sleeved hard molds of similar thermal conductivity. The data indicate that solute effects do not play a significant part in substructure generation in copper of 99.999 pct purity.     

Measurements of Thermal Conductivity Variations with Temperature for the Organic Analog of the Nonmetal–Nonmetal System: Urea–4-Bromo-2-Nitroaniline

Thermal conductivity variations with temperature for solid phases in the Urea (U)–[X] mol pct 4-bromo-2-nitroaniline (BNA) system (X = 0, 2, 45, 89.9, and 100) were measured using the radial heat flow method. From graphs of thermal conductivity variations with temperature, the thermal conductivities of the solid phases at their melting temperature and temperature coefficients for the U–[X] mol pct BNA system (X  =  0, 2, 45, 89.9, and 100) were found to be 0.26, 0.55, 0.46, 0.38, and 0.23 W/Km and 0.007781, 0.005552, 0.002058, 0.002188, and 0.002811 K^?1, respectively. The ratios of thermal conductivity of the liquid phase to thermal conductivity of the solid phase in the U–[X] mol pct BNA system (X  =  0, 2, 45, 89.9, and 100) were also measured to be 0.30, 0.44, 0.46, 0.49, and 0.51, respectively, with a Bridgman-type directional solidification apparatus at their melting temperature.     

连铸坯凝固过程热力耦合有限元模拟

 以铸坯和结晶器之间的间隙热阻为纽带,考虑保护渣凝固对接触热阻和渣膜热阻的影响,建立了连铸结晶器与铸坯热力耦合模型并编写了相应的有限元仿真程序。模型预测的坯壳厚度和实验结果吻合良好,两者差值≤2 mm。应用模型分析了大方坯连铸结晶器内的传热过程和坯壳的应力分布。结果表明,随着拉速提高,凝固坯壳厚度减薄,铸坯产生角部裂纹的趋势增加。     

Reduction of FeO in smelting slags by solid carbon: Experimental results

The reduction of CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃-FeO slags containing less than 10 wt pct FeO by solid carbonaceous materials such as graphite, coke, and coal char was investigated at reaction temperatures of 1400 °C to 1450 °C. The carbon monoxide evolution rate from the system was measured using stationary and rotating carbon rods, stationary horizontal carbon surfaces, and pinned stationary spheres as the reductants. The measured reaction rate ranged from 3.25 × 10^?7 mol cm^?2 s^?1 at 2.1 pct FeO under static conditions to 3.6 × 10^?6 mol cm^?2 s^?1 at 9.5 pct FeO for a rotating rod experiment. Visualization of the experiment using X-ray fluoroscopy showed that gas evolution from the reduction reaction caused the slag to foam during the experiment and that a gas film formed between the carbon surface and the slag at all times during experimentation. The reaction rate increased with increased slag FeO contents under all experimental conditions; however, this variation was not linear with FeO content. The reaction rate also increased with the rotation speed of the carbon rod at a given FeO content. A small increase in the reaction rate, at a given FeO content, was found when horizontal coke surfaces and coke spheres were used as the reductant as compared to graphite and coal char. The results of these experiments do not fit the traditional mass transfer correlations due to the evolution of gas during the experiment. The experimental results are consistent, however, with the hypothesis that liquid phase mass transfer of iron oxide is a major factor in the rate of reduction of iron oxide from slags by carbonaceous materials. In a second article, the individual rates of the possible limiting steps will be compared and a mixed control model will be used to explain the measured reaction rates.     

Optimization of Mold Flux for the Continuous Casting of Cr-Contained Steels

To compensate the negative effect caused by the absorption of chromium oxide inclusions during the casting process of Cr-contained steels, a new mold flux system has been designed and investigated. The melting temperature range of the newly designed mold flux system is from [1124 K to 1395 K (851 °C to 1122 °C)]. The viscosity at 1573 K (1300 °C) and the break temperature increase with the addition of MnO and Cr₂O₃ but decrease with the addition of B₂O₃. The crystalline fraction of mold flux decreases from 81 to 42.1 pct with the addition of MnO and Cr₂O₃, and then further decreases to 25.3 pct with the addition of B₂O₃; however, it improves from 54.4 to 81.5 pct when the basicity increases. Besides, the heat-transfer ability of mold flux is inverse to the crystallization ratio of the slag. The comprehensive study of the properties for the four designed mold fluxes suggests that the mold flux with 1.15 basicity-3.01 pct B₂O₃-1.10 pct MnO-2.10 pct Cr₂O₃ shows the best properties for the continuous casting of Cr-contained steels.     

低碳钢薄板坯高速连铸保护渣研究与优化

 针对低碳钢薄板坯高速连铸过程中保护渣液渣层过薄、黏结报警频发、铸坯表面纵裂纹过多等问题,在充分考虑高拉速下低碳钢凝固收缩特性的基础上,确定了保护渣润滑与传热性能的优化方向并开展了工业试验。将保护渣碱度从1.10提高到1.30,Li₂O质量分数从0.57%提高到1.06%,Na₂O质量分数从5.48%提高到8.16%,碳质量分数由7.71%降低到6.72%。对2种保护渣的流变性能和渣膜3层结构进行了深入研究,发现优化后保护渣渣膜中的液渣层比例增加,渣膜润滑系数α增大;同时,渣膜中的结晶层比例也有一定程度的提高,渣膜热阻系数β增大,从而使保护渣的润滑性能和控制传热能力均得到改善。从矿相分析结果看出,保护渣碱度的提高在一定程度上会促进硅灰石的析出,导致渣膜结晶率提高、热阻增大,进而起到控制传热的目的。生产实践表明,在拉速提高后,使用新型保护渣基本避免了黏结和裂纹的产生,生产效率和铸坯质量均得到显著提高。     

Nonisothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Glassy Mold Fluxes

Crystallization of the solid glassy mold flux film occurring in the gap between the initial shell and mold wall is important, as it determines the in-mold heat transfer and mold lubrication during the process of continuous casting. In order to study the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of the glassy mold flux film in the continuous casting mold, the continuous heating transformation diagram, crystallization mechanism, and precipitate phases were investigated using the single hot thermocouple technique, kinetic models, a scanning electron microscope, and an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The results show that the initial crystallization temperature for CaO-SiO₂ based flux A ranges from [1086 K to 1147 K (813 °C to 874 °C)], which is lower than the case of CaO-Al₂O₃ based flux B ranging from [1205 K to 1245 K (932 °C to 972 °C)]. The crystallization kinetics for flux A are constant nucleation rate, two-dimensional growth, and control by diffusion. For flux B, they are constant nucleation rate, three-dimensional growth, and control by interface reaction. Besides, the EDS results indicate that the precipitate crystals in fluxes A and B are CaSiO₃ and Ca₂AlSiO₄, respectively.     

Analysis of the nonuniform slag film,mold friction,and the new cracking criterion for round billet continuous casting

A method predicting the thickness of solid and liquid slag films is presented to understand the complicated heat transfer from the strand to mold for round billet continuous casting. A mathematical model is also developed to calculate the liquid slag lubrication and solid slag friction on the basis of mechanics of viscous fluids and the contact state between the solidifying shell and mold. And a new criterion, based on the nonuniformity of mold heat transfer around the perimeter is proposed to predict the longitudinal crack. The results show that in the upper mold the distribution of the thickness of liquid slag film is similar with that of the solid one, and both of them are nonuniform around the mold perimeter, so does the mold friction. Increasing the casting speed could advance the time of crack formation for one casting process. By comparison, the sensitive area of the longitudinal crack predicted by the new criterion corresponds to that by a stress-based crack criterion. It may lay the theoretical foundation for the on-line detection of billet quality and the visualization of the continuous casting mold process.     

Study on Mold Slag with High Al2O3 Content for High Aluminum Steel

The slag-steel equilibrium reaction between the newly developed mold slag ND-MSL and 20Mn23AlV steel has been studied at high temperatures in the laboratory. The crystal morphology, microanalysis, and phase analysis of the original and final ND-MSL slags were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results show that, in the final ND-MSL slag, the constitution of SiO₂ decreased by 0.7 wt pct and Al₂O₃ increased by 6.46 wt pct, while the melting temperature, viscosity, and crystallization rate increased by 62 K, 0.66 dPa s, and 15 pct, respectively. NaAlSi₃O₈ and CaAl₂Si₂O₈ were found to be precipitated in the final ND-MSL slag. Both the original and final ND-MSL slags have a small amount of LiF crystal and good glass form. The ND-MSL slag has little change in the composition and properties compared with the two currently used mold slags.     

Microstructural Characterization and Properties Evaluation of Ni-Based Hardfaced Coating on AISI 304 Stainless Steel by High Velocity Oxyfuel Coating Technique

The present study concerns a detailed investigation of microstructural evolution of nickel based hardfaced coating on AISI 304 stainless steel by high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) deposition technique. The work has also been extended to study the effect of coating on microhardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the surface. Deposition has been conducted on sand blasted AISI 304 stainless steel by HVOF spraying technique using nickel (Ni)-based alloy [Ni: 68.4 wt pct, chromium (Cr): 17 wt pct, boron (B): 3.9 wt pct, silicon (Si): 4.9 wt pct and iron (Fe): 5.8 wt pct] of particle size 45 to 60 ??m as precursor powder. Under the optimum process parameters, deposition leads to development of nano-borides (of chromium, Cr₂B and nickel, Ni₃B) dispersion in metastable and partly amorphous gamma nickel (??-Ni) matrix. The microhardness of the coating was significantly enhanced to 935 VHN as compared to 215 VHN of as-received substrate due to dispersion of nano-borides in grain refined and partly amorphous nickel matrix. Wear resistance property under fretting wear condition against WC indenter was improved in as-deposited layer (wear rate of 4.65 × 10^?7 mm³/mm) as compared to as-received substrate (wear rate of 20.81 × 10^?7 mm³/mm). The corrosion resistance property in a 3.56 wt pct NaCl solution was also improved.     

亚包晶钢板坯连铸保护渣凝固结晶行为的研究

对≤1.3 m/min常规拉速(TCaO/SiO₂=1.19)和≥1.5 m/min高拉速(TCaO/SiO₂=1.40)0.07～0.10C亚包晶钢板坯用两种保护渣(%:2.54～3.0Al₂O₃、7.34～8.35Na₂O、8.83～8.87F、0.79～3.00Li₂O)降温凝固过程中结晶特性以及结晶对熔渣粘度的影响进行了研究,得出高拉速保护渣在凝固之前有明显的结晶行为,结晶矿相主要为枪晶石(3CaO·2SiO2·CaF₂);常规拉速保护渣在凝固温度以上时,没有明显的结晶现象。与常规拉速保护渣相比,高拉速保护渣完全凝固后晶粒粗大,组织中有大量空隙,有利于增加渣膜热阻,减缓结晶器传热。TCaO/SiO₂=1.40保护渣在结晶温度以上时,具有较低的粘度,有利于结晶器润滑;结晶温度以下时,粘度迅速增加,有利于增加固渣膜厚度,减缓结晶器传热。     

Some observations on the electrical and thermal properties of the slag-skin region in the electroslag remelting process

An unsteady-state method has been used to determine the electrical resistivity and overall heat-transfer coefficient,U, of the interface region, liquid slag/slag-skin/copper wall, in an electroslag furnace. The value ofU is found to have a slight dependence on slag temperature, slag composition, and slag-skin thickness. It is postulated that the major resistance to the transfer of heat across this composite interface lies in the discontinuity between the slag-skin and the mold wall. The numerical value ofU is found to be approximately 10⁻² cal · cm⁻² s⁻¹ °C⁻¹ for the range of conditions. The electrical resistivity of the interface is found to be a sensitive function of mold wall face temperature. The application of these results to a small ESR furnace is discussed.