Experimental and numerical investigations of the temperature field and melt flow in the induction furnace with cold crucible

Abstract

Comprehensive knowledge of the complicated physical behavior of the induction furnace with cold crucible (IFCC) is required to utilize the advantages of this melting aggregate in melting and casting chemically high‐reactive materials, like titanium‐aluminides (TiAl). Practical experiences show that the overheating temperature of the melt is decisive for the quality of the cast products. Therefore, a systematic analysis of the electromagnetic and in particular, the hydrodynamic and thermal behavior of the IFCC is carried out. The examinations of the influence of the construction elements as well as the process parameters on the temperature field and finally the overheating temperature in the IFCC are performed using specifically developed numerical models. The evaluation of the numerical results is done by experimental investigations, where aluminum serves as a model melt for the experimental determination of the thermal and hydrodynamic field of the melt. The analysis of the influence of construction‐elements on the overheating temperature is focused on the design of the crucible wall and the crucible bottom, on the height‐diameter ratio of the crucible and on the axial inductor position. The inductor current, the operation frequency and the crucible filling level are found to be very important for reaching a high overheating temperature.