Effect of Low-Frequency AC Power Supply During Electroslag Remelting on Qualities of Alloy Steel

The effect of frequencies of AC power supply on the quality of the electroslag-melted ingot is studied. The results show that with a decrease in the frequency, electromagnetic force becomes more violent, and the temperature in the slag bath becomes more homogeneous, and therefore, the depth of molten metal pool is decreased; electrochemical reactions occur with the decrease in the frequency, and the atomic oxygen electrolyzed dissolves in the molten metal pool; the nonmetallic inclusions, which are distributed dispersively in the ingot, have an increased content,and their size is approximately in the range of 2-3 μm.     

电渣重熔工艺对GH4169脱硫的影响

 为进一步降低GH4169中的硫含量,进行了大气下、氩气氛保护及氩气氛保护下向渣池加钙精炼3种工艺条件对脱硫效果影响的电渣重熔试验。结果表明,大气下重熔时脱硫效果明显,硫含量(质量分数,下同)由18×10-6降低到6×10-6,渣中的硫通过气化反应脱除;氩气氛保护不利于电渣重熔工艺的脱硫,硫含量降低到7×10-6后提高到9×10-6,熔渣中的硫不断富集;硫分配比的计算值与实测值的对比研究表明,电渣重熔脱硫热力学条件优越,动力学条件是限制实际脱硫效率进一步提高的主要因素;氩气氛保护下通过向渣池加钙后,熔渣中钙元素能够对合金进行脱硫且脱硫率有较大幅度的提升,合金中硫含量随钙含量的增加而减少,重熔结束时硫含量降至3×10-6。     

Mathematical Model for Electroslag Remelting Process

 A mathematical model, including electromagnetic field equation, fluid flow equation, and temperature field equation, was established for the simulation of the electroslag remelting process. The distribution of temperature field was obtained by solving this model. The relationship between the local solidification time and the interdendritic spacing during the ingot solidification process was established, which has been regarded as a criterion for the evaluation of the quality of crystallization. For a crucible of 950 mm in diameter, the local solidification time is more than 1 h at the center of the ingot with the longest interdendritic spacing, whereas it is the shortest at the edge of the ingot according to the calculated results. The model can be used to understand the ESR process and to predict the ingot quality.     

Hydrogen Pick-Up During Electroslag Remelting Process

  The pick up of hydrogen during electroslag remelting process for several slags consisting of CaF2 Al2O3 CaO SiO2 MgO had been investigated. The laboratory scale remelting experiments had been carried out in open air and water free argon atmosphere, and then the influencing factors were analyzed. It had been found that the hydrogen content in steel varied with different slag compositions. The compositions and state of slag had significant effect on the hydrogen level in steel. Partial return slag and premelted slag could avoid the hydrogen pick up especially in the early stages of the process. However, premelted slag was the optimum state to control the hydrogen pick up in steel. Experimental results indicated that water free argon atmosphere was very favorable to the control of hydrogen in steel in the normal remelting period.     

电渣重熔高氮钢技术的进展

 高氮钢,尤其是高氮不锈钢,由于其优异的性能和诱人的应用前景受到国内外钢铁材料界的广泛关注。在理论计算分析氮在钢中溶解行为的基础上,指出了高氮钢制备的主要技术难点;概述了目前高氮钢的主要制备方法,重点讨论了常压和高压电渣重熔高氮钢的特点和存在的问题;分析了用电弧渣重熔(ASR)法生产高氮钢的技术优势,认为用ASR法生产高氮钢是目前比较可行的方案。     

Segregation of Niobium During Electroslag Remelting Process

 Experiment was carried out after the process parameters were calculated by the model previously established. The relationship between interdendritic spacing and local solidification time (LST) mainly determined by process parameters was exposed. Furthermore, the extent of segregation was studied. The results indicate that LST and interdendritic spacing are the largest and the amount of Laves phase as a result of the niobium segregation is the highest in the center of the ingot, whereas the opposite results are obtained at the edge of ingot. The extent of element segregation and the amount of Laves phase can be reduced when appropriate parameters are used. Therefore, the duration of subsequent homogenization treatments for 718 is shortened and the alloy quality is improved.     

Effect of the Slag Composition on the Process Behavior,Energy Consumption,and Nonmetallic Inclusions during Electroslag Remelting

Electroslag remelting (ESR) is an important process to produce high-quality tool steels. The slag composition has a strong effect on the remelting behavior, particularly on energy consumption and the removal of nonmetallic inclusions (NMI). The latter aspect is strongly related to chemical reactions between the slag and the metal and determines the necessary composition of the slag. Also, the electrical conductivity of the slag is determined by the slag composition, and a high resistivity is desirable. The effect of different slag compositions with 0%–60% CaF₂ and a corresponding wide range of electrical conductivities is investigated regarding slag movement, slag surface temperature, and slag skin thickness, as well as their impact on chemical reactions and the removal of NMI. Therefore, a laboratory-scale ESR unit and the plastic mold steel X40Cr14 are used for the experimental trials. The results show a strong impact on the remelting behavior as well as on the specific energy consumption ranging from ≈900 to over 1700 kWh h⁻¹. The findings from the chemical analysis and detection of NMI indicate that a similar metallurgical behavior is feasible, leading to comparable amounts of dominantly Al₂O₃–MgO-type inclusions with some variation due to different activities in the slag.     

电渣重熔钢锭凝固过程数学模拟软件

建立了钢锭凝固过程数学模型,采用控制容积积分法离散模型方程,利用附加源项法解决冷却边界的计算,用Visual Basic语言编制了计算程序和界面.模拟分析了45号碳素结构钢的电渣重熔钢锭凝固过程.模拟结果与实验结果较吻合,这表明该软件可用于实际电渣熔铸生产过程中钢锭的凝固实时分析及控制.     

电渣重熔与连铸轴承钢中的夹杂物

研究了电渣重熔前后钢中氧及夹杂物的变化,结果表明:用电渣重熔工艺生产轴承钢,虽然氧含量比连铸钢高,但其大颗粒夹杂物数量少,尺寸较小,分布均匀,因此疲劳寿命高.     

Electroslag Remelting Withdrawing Technology for Offshore Jack-up Platform Rack Steel Manufacturing Process

Offshore jack-up platform rack steel must exhibit high strength and toughness as well as excellent welding properties.A high-quality large ingot is a prerequisite for obtaining a high-performance rough part.The electroslag remelting withdrawing(ESRW)technology using a T-shaped mold and bifilar mode was introduced to replace casting technology.Numerical simulation of the ESRW process was performed to determine the distribution of the temperature and velocity fields and to determine the optimum process for producing rack steels.Several A514 Qslab ingots with dimensions of 0.32m×1.40m×4.00 m were produced using ESRW technology in an industrial plant.The industrial test indicated that slab ingots produced by the ESRW method exhibited uniform chemical compositions and compact macrostructures.A 115.4mm thick plate was produced from the rough ingot after 11 rolling passes.Samples were obtained from different positions in the steel plate to test the mechanical performance and examine the microstructure,and the results revealed that the properties of the steel plate satisfied ASTM standards.The ESRW process improved the tensile strength and toughness of the slab ingot,enabling significant improvements in the anisotropy and low temperature toughness,which are critical for the development of rack steel for offshore platforms.     

电渣重熔炉电极熔化速度对重熔过程的影响

建立了重熔钢锭的数学模型,确定了材料的物理边界条件,采用有限差分法对电渣重熔钢锭凝固过程的非稳态模型进行了求解,研究了电极熔化速度与准稳态熔池深度的关系.     

Macro- and Microstructure Evolution of 5CrNiMo Steel Ingots during Electroslag Remelting Process

A comprehensive mathematical model was established and used to simulate the macro and microstructure evolution during the production process of 5CrNiMo steel ingot by electroslag remelting （ESR） method. Along the ingot height, the macrostructure distribution characteristics changed from vertical, fine columnar grains to tilted, coarse columnar grains, and this transformation process occurred at the very beginning of ESR. In the cross section of the ingot, there were three grain morphology regions and two grain type transition regions from the outside to the center of the ingot. These regions were the fine columnar grain region, columnar competitive growth transition re gion, coarse columnar grain region, columnar to equiaxed grain transition （CET） region, and coarse equiaxed grain region. The influence of the remelting rate on the macrostructure and mlcrostructure was investigated using a series of experiments and simulations. The results showed that a low remelting rate could produce a small grain growth angle （GGA） ; the average secondary dendrite arm spacing （SDAS） firstly decreased and then increased as the remelting rate increased. An excessively high or low remelting rate can increase the GGA and average SDAS in ingots. Thus, the remelting rate should be controlled within a suitable range to reduce composition microsegregation and microshrinkage in the ingot to produce an ESR ingot with satisfactory hot forging performance.     

电渣重熔H13钢中一次碳化物形成机制

 H13热作模具钢在电渣重熔过程中会在凝固末端形成粗大的碳化物及氮化物,由于生成温度高,热稳定性好,会保留到最终热处理状态,对钢材的性能产生严重影响。应用偏析模型计算并说明了凝固过程生成粗大的共晶碳化物和氮化物的可能,当固相率达到0.82时由残余液相生成TiN,随着温度进一步下降在接近凝固终点时生成VC0.88,由于碳化物中固溶了其他合金元素,认为生成的VC0.88的活度不为1,试验检测的碳化物合金元素含量与理论假设基本吻合。对粗大的碳氮化物的特点及细化减少碳化物进行简单讨论。     

The Cellular Automata Model of Electroslag Remelting Ingot Structure

Electroslag remelting (ESR) is an advanced process for the production of high quality steels. The microstructure of remelted steel which affect the mechanical properties and the performance of the ingot was determined by the technological parameters. A two-dimensional axisymmetric geometry which was established in this paper was divided into macro-grid finite element in order to compute temperature field; then the grid was divided into more detailed and uniform cells, and at last the continuous nucleation model based on the Gaussian distribution and KGT growth model was established for nucleation and growth calculations using cellular automaton method (CA) on the solidification of molten steel. The results show that: a vertical columnar grain zone and a inverted V-shaped columnar crystal zone appeared in the ESR ingot. In addition, the temperature field with different electrode melting rate and slag pool temperature parameters and the microstructure with different average nucleation under cooling and maximum grain density were studied in this paper. The simulation results agree well with the experimental results, so it is proved that the model and calculation method is reliable. To produce ideal solidified ingot and achieve the purpose of optimizing the production process, the production process was adjusted according to the simulation results.