Phenomena at three-phase electroslag remelting

Abstract

The electroslag remelting (ESR) process is widely used to produce high-quality ingots and billets for high-alloyed steels and alloys. Both the single-phase and three-phase alternating current diagram with bifilar and monofilar connection are in use for heavy ingot manufacturing. The numerical simulation of the three-phase bifilar circuit for the 120 t three-phase bifilar six-electrode ESR furnace at different variants of electric connection was presented and discussed. At the bifilar diagram of power supply, the geometrical location of electrodes in a mould holds critical importance for performances: the close location of bifilar pair electrodes provides the highest heat productivity, but the equidistant location of electrodes gives a much more uniform heat distribution. The monofilar mulit-electrode diagram of three-phase connection without phase shift shows the most uniform distribution of potential and heat generation as well as a favorable magnetic field that makes this kind the most promising for providing a high quality of heavy ingots.