Numerical Study on the Solid–Liquid Interface Evolution of Large-Scale Titanium Alloy Ingots During High Energy Consumption Electron Beam Cold Hearth Melting

Abstract

In the present paper, a three-dimensional thermal-fluid multi-physical model has been established to investigate the effect of energy consumption operations on the evolutionary tendency of the solid–liquid interface for large-scale Ti-6 wt.%Al-4 wt.%V (TC4) round (Φ260 mm and Φ620 mm)/slab (1050 mm × 220 mm) ingots produced by electron beam cold hearth melting. The results qualitatively revealed the evolutionary tendency of the solid–liquid interface in different casting conditions, indicating that the solid–liquid interface with a gentle casting speed at a low pouring temperature will generate symmetric solid–liquid interfaces which were slightly affected by the modification of the pouring temperature. With an increasing energy input resulting from the rising casting speed, the deformation of the solid–liquid interface near the inlet was increased. As a result, the risk of breaking out and the formation of a non-uniform microstructure in the Φ620-mm round ingots and slab ingots was greatly increased.