Three‐dimensional Simulation of Thermosolutal Convection and Macrosegregation in Steel Ingots

Abstract

AbstractThermosolutal convection and macrosegregation formation during the solidification of steel ingots are numerically simulated in three dimensions. The simulation is based on a fully coupled model for mass, momentum, energy, and species conservation equations. The interdendritic flow in the mushy zone is governed by Darcy's law, and the permeability term is discretized using an interpolated liquid fraction method. The numerical results for a benchmark test of macrosegregation in a Pb‐Sn alloy are compared with experimental data taken from the literature. The present model is applied to simulate the solidification of industrial steel ingots. Preliminary predictions are obtained, including the positive segregation in the hot top, and the conically shaped negative segregation zone at the bottom of the ingot. The predicted variation of the segregation ratio in carbon along the vertical centreline of an ingot is compared with measurements, and generally good agreement is observed. Future attention should be paid to the precision of prediction by considering complex solidification issues, such as the sedimentation of free equiaxed grains and the formation of shrinkage cavity.