Investigations on the origin of radial distribution of Non Metallic Inclusions in ESR ingot

Abdellah Kharicha1, Jrg Korp2, Andreas Ludwig3, 1 CD Laboratory, Leoben, AUSTRIA 2 Breitenfeld Edelstahl GmbH, AUSTRIA 3 University of Leoben, Franz-Joseph strasse, 8. 8700 Leoben, AUSTRIA Keywords: Electroslag, Remelting, non metallic inclusions, automated REM/EDX analysis, electromagnetic, Solidification, Experimental.

Abstract In the present paper a 2D numerical model is used to explore the possible origins of the non uniform distribution of NMI in ingot remelted with an ESR process. Experiments where performed with 3 different melting rates, ion which both ingot and electrode where analysed by an automated REM/EDX system to determine the type, the size and the distribution of the NMI. An increase of NMI concentration with melting rate was noticed. The final distribution of particles in the ingot was found to be not uniform. The NMI concentration increases with the radial position, low in centre, and large in the ingot extremity. We explore several hypotheses to explain these experimental results: 1) Hydrodynamic hypothesis: The inclusions are supposed to be mostly originated from electrode. The 2D model of flow and solidification is used to predict the most probable paths of inclusions. The inclusions were released from the liquid pool surface with particles of 4, 10, 50 micrometers nominal equivalent diameters. The particles were supposed to be either spheres or ellipsoids. The particles were tracked until their final position in the mushy region. 2) Electromagnetic hypothesis: Since the NMI are much less conducting than the liquid metal, the electric current lines will envelop the particles. This implies that the particles are subject to a Lorentz force in opposite direction than the Lorentz force applied to the liquid. The NMI are then pushed towards the outer surface of the ingot. The strength of this force is compared with the other forces such as buoyancy and the drag from the flow. 3) Thermodynamic hypothesis: The inclusions are supposed to be mostly originated from a precipitation phenomenon inside or at vicinity of the mushy zone. The size and the distribution of the NMI must be totally function of the cooling rate, solidification time, and size of the mushy zone. Thermodynamic calculations are performed using the results given by a 2D CFD model for the ESR process.