Electroslag Hollow Ingots for Nuclear and Petrochemical Pressure Vessels and Pipes

Abstract

The paper presents ground reasoning and results of experiments and modeling of heavy hollow ingot manufacturing using advanced electroslag technology. The requirements for ingots for huge diameter reactor pressure vessels include high density, homogeneity, and minimal segregation, which are very difficult to achieve by traditional casting. In the electroslag remelting process (ESR), hollow ingots form in between two copper water-cooled molds under effective heat removal. This improves the solidification pattern due to the shortening of a solidifying volume thickness more than twice compared with a solid ingot of the same diameter. The shallow liquid metal pool and narrow mushy zone at the ESR hollow ingot solidification assure their high metallurgical quality. Due to the dense and low segregation structure, ESR hollow ingots proved to be used for as-cast pipes and heavy wall billets for further forging. The results of a mathematical simulation within the range of simulated dimensions (the outer diameter up to 2900 mm, wall thickness up to 750 mm) also predict the favorable solidification pattern for thick-wall hollow ingots of big diameters. The analysis made and the modeling results provide a framework for scaling up the sizes of hollow ingots produced by ESR and widening their application for manufacturing heavy wall large diameter shells for nuclear and petrochemical industries. The higher reachable productivity of hollow ingot formation and lower capacity of power supply source than that for solid ingots of the same diameter and weight are also preconditions of their energy saving and cost-effective manufacturing.