Effect of Noncontact Ultrasonic Technology on Solidification Quality of Electroslag Steel

Abstract

A new electroslag furnace with ultrasonic vibration introduced through water-cooled base plate was designed and the effects of ultrasonic power on the distribution of elements, compactness and carbides in the electroslag remelting (ESR) ingots was investigated. The results showed that the distribution of elements on the entire excitation section changed with the change of ultrasonic power under experimental conditions. The statistical segregation of elements was minimum when the ultrasonic power was 500 W, whereas excessively high or excessively low power was not conducive to the uniform distribution of elements. Meanwhile, the compactness of ESR ingots gradually increased with the increase in ultrasonic power and distribution of compactness was the most uniform when ultrasonic power reached 500 W. Further increase in the ultrasonic power was not conducive to the improvement of compactness. The distribution characteristic of carbides was similar to the distribution of elements and compactness. The results indicated that the ultrasonic vibration introduced through water-cooled base plate was advantageous in improving solidification quality. However, this method needed reasonable ultrasonic power. Moreover, the effects of ultrasonic power varied for different elements.