Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
ME450
Continuous Casting:
Solidification phenomena
B.G. Thomas
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Tenaris University Continuous Casting Course BG Thomas 1
Director, Continuous Casting Consortium
Wilkins Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Overview
Solidification structure formation
Nucleation, Dendrites, and grain growth , , g g
Effect of EMS
Segregation
Microsegregation (between dendrites)
Macrosegregation (centerline vs surface)
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 2
Hot-tear cracks and ductility loss
2
Billet casting
process
Ladle
Tundish
Molten
Steel
T b ld
Molten steel stream
Mold
Torch Cutoff
Point
Liquid
Pool
Solidifying
Meniscus
z
Tube mold
Small cross section
Small aspect ratio
Open pour
(with oil lubrication)
Or submerged nozzle
Foot rolls
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 3
Spray
Cooling
Billet
Metallurgical
Length
Strand
Solidifying
Shell
Drive roll
(with mold flux)
The mold is the heart of the caster
Transforms liquid to a shaped cross-section
R h t t lidif lt t l h ll Removes heat to solidify molten steel shell
Determines productivity
Breakouts
Casting speed
Determines quality
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 4
Determines quality
Creates surface!
Affects internal cleanliness and structure
3
Billet mold
meniscus
Steel Jacket
Mold
Water Channel
s
t
e
e
l
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 5
Side view
Top view
S
o
l
i
d
i
f
y
i
n
g
Solidification Front Structure
Liquidus (100% liquid)
Cell
Solidus (100% solid)
Solid
mold
Columnar dendrite
Nucleus
Mushy region
Primary dendrite arm spacing
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 6
shell
Equiaxed grain
4
Final Solidification Structure
Showering crystals initiate columnar-equiaxed transition
Gravity causes earlier transition on outer radius
Variations in equiaxed
grain pile-up traps liquid
pockets, leading to
porosity and centerline
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 7
Ed Szekeres, Brimacombe course notes
porosity and centerline
segregation
Radial Streaks
Segregation Defects
Centerline Segregation
(and Porosity)
c
a
s
t
i
n
g
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 8
Longitudinal Section
cracks filled with
segregated liquid
Ed Szekeres
5
Final Solidification Structure
Typical grain structure in a billet cross section
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 9
Development of Microstructure
Nucleation
Undercooling needed to overcome energy barrier g gy
to initiate nucleation
number of nucleation sites controls # of grains
Growth
Competitive growth of columnar grains from walls
(Certain growth directions are preferred)
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 10
Equiaxed grains nucleate in central liquid
Final macrostructure
depends on competition between columnar vs.
equiaxed grains
6
Dendrite Growth
Dendrites start from nucleation sites
Branched, 3-D, tree-like structures
[100] growth direction [100] growth direction
Secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS, ) has
important effect on material properties
<100>
<010>
Secondary
arms
Tenaris University Casting Course, 2007 Solidification BG Thomas 11
<100>
<001>