Electronic edition ISSN 1574-0579

Mathematical modeling of the flow field, temperature distribution, melting and solidification in the electroslag remelting process

A. Rückert , H. Pfeifer

Institute for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe Str.10, 52074 Aachen, Germany

Abstract
The ElectroSlag Remelting (ESR) process works with a consumable electrode, which is melted through a slag layer into a water-cooled mould applying alternating electric current. The ESR process produces large ingots of high quality by controlled solidification and chemical refinement. It is important to predict how certain process parameters affect the structure and chemical composition of the product. Due to the high costs and difficulties regarding physical modelling, numerical modelling is a competitive alternative. An understanding of the heat, momentum and mass transfer in the ESR process is the basis for further microscopic studies. Due to the transient application of the multiphase, non-isothermal fluid flow problem with magnetohydrodynamic effects, melting and solidification, modelling is a complex task. In this paper, results of a numerical model to solve these transport phenomena are presented. In this model the electromagnetic field, the resulting Lorentz forces and the Joule heating are modelled. The fluid flow field, the temperature distribution, the movement of different phases and the melting and solidification resulting from the electromagnetic field are shown. Tables 2, Figs 5, Refs 14.