Numerical Investigation on Grain Structure of Magnetic-Controlled Electroslag Remelted Ingot Based on CAFE and Equivalent Treatment Method

• Published in: Metallurgical and materials transactions. B, Process metallurgy and materials processing science Process metallurgy and materials processing science, 2024-04, Vol.55 (2), p.1027-1038
• Main Authors: Xia, Zhibin, Sun, Zhonghao, Zhang, Mingliang, Guo, Yifeng, Shen, Zhe, Ding, Biao, Zheng, Tianxiang, Li, Qiang, Liu, Chunmei, Zhong, Yunbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellular automata; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Equivalence; Grain structure; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; Ingots; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Microstructure; Nanotechnology; Nucleation; Original Research Article; Solidification; Structural Materials; Surfaces and Interfaces; Temperature distribution; Thermal conductivity; Thin Films; Two dimensional models
• ISSN: 1073-5615; 1543-1916
• DOI: 10.1007/s11663-024-03014-4

A transient two-dimensional axisymmetric model is developed to investigate the influence of the applied transverse static magnetic field (TSMF) on the grain morphology of the electroslag remelted (ESR) ingot. The cellular automata-finite element (CAFE) technique is employed to elucidate the nucleation and growth of the grains. Moreover, an equivalent treatment method by adjusting the effective thermal conductivity is introduced to model the effect of the electromagnetic vibration (EMV) generated by the applied 0.05T TSMF on the temperature distribution. The close correspondence between the experimental data and the simulation outcomes demonstrates the validity and reliability of the computational model. The results show that with the effective thermal conductivity increasing from η to 3 η , the proportion of equiaxed grain increases from 25.1 to 48.7 pct and the grains get refined. Furthermore, the increase in effective thermal conductivity correlates with a decrease in both the local solidification time (LST) and the second dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) at the central region, suggesting a finer microstructure of the ingot. In addition, as the effective thermal conductivity increases, a substantial decrease in the maximum depth of the metal pool is observed, reducing from 53.9 to 19.4 mm, which should be conductive to microstructure refinement and macrosegregation alleviation.