Heat removal analysis on steel billets and slabs produced by continuous casting using numerical simulation

Simulation of a continuous casting process (CCP) is very important for improving industrial practices, reducing working times, and assuring safety operating conditions. The present work is focused on the development of a computational simulator to calculate and analyze heat removal during continuous casting of steel; routines for reading the geometrical configuration and operating conditions were developed for an easy management. Here, a finite difference method is used to solve the steel thermal behavior using a 2D computational array. Conduction, radiation, and forced convection equations are solved to simulate heat removal according to a steel position along the continuous casting machine. A graphical user interface (GUI) was also developed to display virtual sketches of the casting machines; moreover, computational facilities were programmed to show results such as temperature and solidification profiles. The results are analyzed and validated by comparison with industrial trials; finally, the influence of some industrial parameters such as casting speed and quenching conditions is analyzed to provide some recommendations in order to warrant safety operating conditions.     

A new shell casting process based on expendable pattern with vacuum and low-pressure casting for aluminum and magnesium alloys

A new shell casting process, with the adoption of the foam pattern of lost foam casting (LFC) as prototype and the combination of the thin shell fabrication technology of investment casting and vacuum and low-pressure casting process, was proposed for manufacturing complicated and thin-walled aluminum and magnesium alloy precision castings. Loose-sand uniting vacuum was used in the new process to further reinforce the thin shell, and the new process proves to be a process with simple process, low cost, and high thin shell strength. Because the molten metal filling and solidification are completed under air pressure and vacuum level, the filling capability and feeding capacity of the molten metal are greatly improved, and the castings become denser. This paper mainly investigated the fabrication technology of thin shell based on foam pattern prototype, the removing foam and roasting shell process and vacuum and low-pressure casting process. The few-layer compound thin shell of silica sol–sodium silicate was adopted for the new process. Removing foam pattern was carried out at 250°C for 30 min, and the shell was roasted at 800°C for 1 h. Combined with the vacuum and low-pressure casting process, this new shell casting process has successfully produced thin wall and complex aluminum and magnesium alloy parts with high quality. In addition, comparisons in terms of filling ability, microstructure, mechanical properties, porosity, and surface roughness among this new shell casting, gravity casting, and LFC were also made to show the characterization of this new shell casting process.     

Design and implementation of an automated secondary cooling system for the continuous casting of billets

This paper describes a heat transfer model based automatic secondary cooling system for a billet caster. The model aims to minimize the variation in surface temperature and excessive reheating of the billet strands. It is also used to avoid the low ductility trough of the solidifying steel, which aggravates the tendency of steel to crack. The system has been designed and implemented in an integrated steel plant. A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) based automation system has been developed to control the water flow in the secondary cooling zones of the strand. The results obtained through field trials have shown complete elimination of internal and off-corner cracks for the fifty billet samples that were monitored.     

ZK60镁合金锻造拔长工艺及组织性能研究

研究了铸态ZK60镁合金拔长工艺,对锻造拔长过程的现象进行了分析,结果表明,通过光学显微镜对不同拔长工艺条件下的组织进行分析。随着锻造比的增大,晶粒组织逐渐细化,锻件力学性能提高。     

等径角轧制ZK60镁合金板材的组织与性能

对采用等径角轧制工艺（ECAR）制备的ZK60镁合金板材研究发现,与直接轧制的板材相比,等径角轧制板材的晶粒取向由（0002）基面取向演化为非基面取向,经等径角轧制后,板材晶粒没有得到细化,同时形成了大量的平行排列的细密孪晶,强度明显提高。与1个道次直接轧制的板材相比,1个道次等径角轧制的板材其抗拉强度由271．7Mea增大到328．3MPa,但伸长率由25．5％降低至8．5％。     

深冷处理对铸态ZK60镁合金显微组织和力学性能的影响

选用工业化生产的半连铸ZK60镁合金为研究对象,采用力学性能检测设备、光学显微镜、X射线衍射仪和透射电镜等研究了深冷处理(77 K)对其显微组织和力学性能的影响.结果表明:深冷处理可以细化ZK60合金的显微组织,引起一定程度的晶粒转动并促进微细第二相析出,产生了细晶强化及第二相析出强化,使ZK60合金的屈服强度由150...     

The effects of casting and forging processes on joint properties in friction-welded AISI 1050 and AISI 304 steels

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of investment casting and forging process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction weldments, AISI 1050–AISI 304. A continuous-drive friction welding device with the automatic control ability of friction time and forging pressure was designed and constructed. Factorial design of experiments was performed to join investment cast AISI 1050 steels and forged AISI 1050 steels with AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel with respect to the optimized process parameters. The joint performance was evaluated by tensile and hardness tests performed parallel and perpendicular to the weld interface. Microstructure of forged parts under friction welding was examined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Results of microstructural studies were compared with those of friction welding of investment cast parts. The results reveal that a recrystallized region or a mechanically mixed layer was formed on the AISI 304 side near the weld interface, depending on friction time and friction pressure. Friction welding of forged parts always exhibited higher tensile strength, lower hardness, and more upset than the cast parts.     

大型镁合金压铸机哥林柱断裂原因分析及其结构改进

哥林柱是压铸机的关键部件,其强度条件直接影响到压铸机的正常使用和铸件的质量。针对大型镁合金压铸机哥林柱在实际使用中存在的断裂现象,基于ANSYS对哥林柱螺纹副的受力特征进行了深入研究,讨论了哥林柱失效的原因,并结合其失效原因提出了二种简单、可靠的哥林柱螺纹副结构改进方案。     

Evaluation of cellulose electro-active paper made by tape casting and zone stretching methods

Cellulose has been discovered as a smart material that can be used as sensor and actuator material. In this paper, cellulose smart material termed as electro-active paper (EAPap) is prepared by an automated process that includes tape casting and zone stretching. To evaluate characteristics of the EAPap, its Young’s modulus and piezoelectric charge constant are measured depending on the orientation angle, in comparison with the manually fabricated EAPap results. The zone stretching method can effectively align the cellulose fibers in the EAPap so as to improve its Young’s modulus as well as piezoelectric charge constant. The 0 degree oriented sample shows its maximum Young’s modulus and the 45 degree oriented sample exhibits the maximum piezoelectric charge constant. This 45 degree is associated with its shear piezoelectricity. The actuator performance of EAPap is evaluated by measuring its bending displacement depending on the orientation angle and the excitation voltage. The 45 degree oriented sample exhibits the maximum bending displacement. Details of the material preparation, the automation process, characterization and the actuator performance are addressed. This automated process that includes tape casting and zone stretching is suitable for mass production of the EAPap.     

Preform design in forging process of complex parts by using quasi-equipotential field and response surface methods

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology - The preform design is the key to bulk metal forming. An approach to optimize 3D preform shape in multi-step die forging based on...     

Comparative analysis of dental enamel polyvinylsiloxane impression and polyurethane casting methods for SEM research

Dental casting is a very common procedure for making high-quality replicas of paleo-anthropological remains. Replicas are frequently used, instead of original remains, to study both fossil and extant Primate teeth in morphological and metrical analyses. Several commercial products can be used in molds. This study analyzed SEM image resolution and enamel surface feature definition of tooth molds at various magnification levels and obtained, with both Coltène and 3M low-viscosity body polyvinylsiloxane impression, materials and polyurethane casts. Results, through comparison with the original teeth, show that both the negative molds and the positive casts are highly reliable in replicating enamel surfaces. However, positive cast quality is optimal for SEM observation only till the fourth consecutive replica from the original mold, especially at high SEM magnification levels.     

A study on precision forging of spur gear forms and spline by the upper bound method

Precision forging is an important manufacturing procedure of spline and spur gear forms. It has advantages of improved strength, good tolerance, saving billet material, dispensing with the cutting, etc. In this paper, a mathematical model using an upper bound method is proposed for forging of spur gear forms and spline to investigate the plastic deformation behavior of billet within the die cavity. The material of solid billet was assumed as rigid–plastic and the shape of the tooth profile was accounted for the mathematical modeling of the kinematically admissible velocity field assumed for the plastic zone. The non-uniform velocity was employed for simulating the inhomogeneous deformation and the effect of barreling during the forging. Using the present model, various effects of forming parameter such as the friction factor, reduction, number of teeth, etc. upon the non-dimensional forging pressure, forging force and barreling of the spur gear forms and spline were analyzed systematically and the results compared with those of other researcher's analytical and experimental work. It is shown that the present modeling of the process improves knowledge of the process design performance for the precision forging of spur gear form and spline.     

Sliding friction and wear of magnesium alloy AZ91D produced by two different methods

Alloy AZ91D is a leading magnesium alloy used for structural applications. It contains aluminum and zinc as principal alloying elements. This alloy is normally die-cast, but recent developments in semi-solid injection molding (Thixomolding^®), which offers certain processing advantages, produces a slightly different microstructure than die-casting, and it was of interest to determine whether the two processing routes would measurably affect the friction and wear of AZ91D. The present work involved ambient air, room temperature testing of die-cast (DC) and Thixomolded^® (ThM) AZ91D, in both unidirectional and reciprocating sliding motion, using stainless steel type 440C as the counterface. After running-in, the average sliding friction coefficients in both types of test fell into the range of 0.29–0.35, irrespective of processing method. The formation of a built-up edge raised the friction slightly in unidirectional tests compared with reciprocating tests. The average wear rate of the ThM alloys in reciprocating sliding was approximately 25% lower than that for DC alloys. However, the wear rates of the magnesium specimens in unidirectional sliding were comparable for DC and ThM materials. Owing to the transfer of magnesium, there was no measurable wear on the stainless steel 440C balls. The wear mechanism during sliding involves the formation of thin, narrow shards along the edges of wear grooves which break off to produce loose particles.     

基于图像处理的连铸板坯测控系统

本文介绍了基于计算机图像处理连铸板坯长度测量和切割控制系统的硬件构成和软件功能。讨论了摄像机参数标定方法和系统测量误差。     

A study on deburring of magnesium alloy plate by magnetic abrasive polishing

Drilling is one of the most important machining operations in manufacture process. When drilling process is applied, unexpected burrs will be formed on the surface of workpiece. Even a small burr can cause unwanted problems, resulting in low quality products. In order to get better drilled parts, it is very important to know characteristics of burr formation and to remove the burr from the drilled surface with machining process. In this study, magnetic abrasive polishing (MAP) was used to research the deburring factors of magnesium alloy. Moreover, design of experiments was performed to evaluate parameters’ effect on the MAP process. As a result, it was seen that the MAP was useful to remove the burrs on the workpiece without damage from its original surface.     

Simulation of flexible automated systems for the discrete production of metal components by forging and machining

The integration of metal forming and metal removal operations in a single flexible manufacturing cell will advance further the area of application of the flexible manufacturing system and will contribute to the flexible automation of traditionally high volume applications. Forming operations will first be employed to achieve a near net shape of the components, so that only a minimum of subsequent machining operations will be required to manufacture the final forms. The efficient use of these systems depends considerably on the proper design of the system. A simulation model written in the PASCAL language is presented, capable of simulating a mixed type FMC. With the aid of this model the effect of the batch size and the carrying capacity of the pallets on utilisation of the machine tool and the throughput times of the orders is examined.     

The effect of billets extruded by a curved and flat-face die on the semisolid characteristics and tensile properties of thixoformed products

In this study, A356 aluminum billets in different extruded states are used as feedstock for the thixoforming. The extrusion billets were fabricated by a hot extrusion process through a flat-face and a curved die. After the induction reheating of the extrusion billets into a semisolid state, the microstructural evolution was thoroughly investigated. For the extrusion alloy by the flat-face die, there was a large variation in the average grain size (20 %) and the mean roundness (17 %) of equiaxed α-Al grains. This, together with evidence of elongated grains in the interior regions of the billet, indicated that a noticeably nonuniform globular microstructure had been obtained. In contrast, for the extrusion alloy through the curved die, the obtained globular microstructure was more uniform. There were slight variations of 5 % and 7 % in the average grain size and the mean roundness, respectively. By using the extrusion billets, some parts fabricated via the thixoforming process those underwent T6 heat treatment. The tensile test results for the fabricated parts showed that when the extrusion billet through the conventional flat-face die was used as the feedstock, there was a large scattering in the tensile properties throughout the part. In contrast, when the extruded billet through the curved die was used as the feedstock, limited variation was observed in the tensile properties.     

伺服电机驱动连铸结晶器振动系统建模与分析

伺服电机驱动连铸结晶器按期望规律振动是一种新型的驱动方式。伺服电机驱动的连铸结晶器振动系统,可避免现有其它方式驱动连铸结晶器振动的不足,具有节能降耗、使用寿命长等优点。为了提高连铸结晶器振动速度或位移的控制精度,保证结晶器振动的平稳性和铸坯质量,建立系统较精确的数学模型是关键。因此,本文首先通过实验研究辨识得到伺服电机转速闭环模型,并推导了机械传动部分的机理模型,从而建立了伺服电机驱动的连铸结晶器振动台系统的数学模型,并给出了一种状态空间表达式;其次,对所建立的模型进行验证,通过相同输入作用下所建模型的仿真输出与实际系统的实测输出的比对,结果表明该模型能较好地反映系统的性能,从而验证了本文所建立模型的有效性;最后对建模误差进行了定量分析,结果表明：模型拟合精度可达94%以上,进一步确认了模型的准确性。所建系统的模型及其误差分析为下一步连铸结晶器位移系统跟踪控制器的设计奠定了良好基础。