+高级检索
网刊加载中。。。

使用Chrome浏览器效果最佳,继续浏览,你可能不会看到最佳的展示效果,

确定继续浏览么?

复制成功,请在其他浏览器进行阅读

Control of Al and Ti Contents During Electroslag Remelting of High-Temperature Ni-based Alloys  PDF

  • Ju Jiantao 1,2
  • Zhu Zhihong 1,2
  • Yang Kangshuai 1,2
  • Ji Guangheng 1,2
  • An Jialiang 1,2
  • Shi Cheng- bin 3
1. School of Metallurgical Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China; 2. Metallurgical Engineering Technology Research Centre of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710055, China; 3. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Updated:2021-10-28

  • Full Text
  • Figs & Tabs
  • References
  • Authors
  • About
CN CITE
OUTLINE

Abstract

The oxidation of Al and Ti in the electroslag remelting process causes an uneven axial composition of the electroslag ingot, which adversely affects its performance, including corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. To control the uniformity of Al and Ti content in electroslag ingots, it is necessary to clarify the change in Al and Ti content during the high-temperature electroslag remelting and to reduce the oxidation of Al and Ti in the alloy by optimizing the slag system ratio and smelting conditions. The research status of Al and Ti element control in the electroslag remelting process was reviewed based on the existing literature, taking the low-fluorine slag CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-MgO-TiO2 and Incoloy 825 alloy as examples. The ion and molecular coexistence theory of slag (IMCT) was used along with FactSage software to summarize the thermodynamic and kinetic research methods. The effects of temperature and components of slag on the equilibrium Al and Ti contents in the alloy were discussed. Based on the film-penetration theory, a kinetics model for predicting Al and Ti contents in the alloy was proposed, and the mathematical equation of the Al and Ti contents vs time in the electroslag process and the slag-metal reaction rate-limiting method were obtained. Results show that the optimum TiO2 addition during the electroslag remelting for Incoloy 825 alloy is determined to be approximately 10%. The slag-metal equilibrium experimental results were compared and analyzed using IMCT and FactSage. It is found that the FactSage calculation results are more accurate than the IMCT calculation results. The higher the TiO2 content, the smaller the deviation between the calculated and experimental results.

Science Press

Alloys and steels refined by electroslag remelting are commonly used in aerospace and petrochemical fields[

1], so there are strict requirements on all aspects of their perfor-mance, and the alloying elements Al and Ti in the metal are the key elements that determine their performance. For example, the high-temperature nickel-based alloys are solid solution-strengthened Fe-Cr-Ni-based corrosion-resistant alloys. The Al and Ti contents in the alloy determine the strengthening phase γ'-Ni3(Al, Ti), the precipitation tempe-rature, and the amount of Ti(C, N), which in turn affect the alloy’s structure, mechanics, corrosion resistance, and melting point of the alloy[2-4]. At present, the main production methods for most high-temperature nickel-based alloys are vacuum melting and electroslag remelting. However, the oxidation-reduction reaction between the slag and the metal during the electroslag remelting process causes the metal elements Al and Ti in the electroslag ingot to be oxidized. This results in their uneven distribution in the axial direction, and seriously affects the quality of the electroslag ingot[5-8].

Current research methods of component content control in the electroslag process rely upon theoretical calculations combined with experimental verification. Researchers have proposed a large number of reaction models, including thermodynamic models, kinetic models, deoxidation models, and desulphurisation models, to predict the content changes of various components[

9-13]. The study of the control of Al and Ti content employs mainly a thermodynamic model and a kinetic model. In the case of an argon atmosphere or addition of a deoxidizer, the oxidation reaction equation of Al and Ti in the alloy is as follows[14,15]:

4[Al]+3(TiO2)=3[Ti]+2(Al2O3) (1)

The Al2O3 content in the slag is high, and the Ti content in the high-titanium and low-aluminium alloy is much higher than the Al content, which causes the Ti element to be easily oxidized. At present, the focus of thermodynamics research is to determine the optimal amount of TiO2 in the slag when the content of Al and Ti in the alloy is controlled. However, the TiO2 content required for smelting is not only related to the type of alloy but also affected by the content of other components in the slag. For different alloys, the optimal TiO2 content in the slag is variable. The focus of kinetics research is to predict the distribution of Al and Ti elements in electroslag ingots based on actual electroslag process parameters and slag composition[

16-18]. This more closely represents actual conditions. The influence of slag composition and smelting conditions on Al and Ti content can be determined, and the formulation of process parameters in the electroslag process can be clarified. Therefore, it is important to summarize the previous research methods and results to obtain the change regularity and mechanism of Al and Ti content during the electroslag remelting process.

This paper summarizes the research progress on the control of Al and Ti content during the electroslag remelting process. In addition, based on the ion and molecular coexistence theory of slag (IMCT) and FactSage (GTT-Technologies, DE) software calculations, the changes in the equilibrium Al and Ti contents of the CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-MgO-TiO2 slag reaction with Incoloy 825 alloy were identified. The oxidation regularity of Al and Ti during the electroslag remelting of the Incoloy 825 alloy reveals the optimal TiO2 content in the slag. To provide theoretical guidance for the control of Al and Ti content in the process of electroslag remelting, a kinetic model for predicting Al and Ti contents was proposed based on the film permeation theory.

1 Thermodynamic Calculation Method

The thermodynamic calculation of Al and Ti contents during the electroslag remelting process can provide theoretical support for the slag system design, and the key in the calculation is the component activity in the slag. The reaction of Al and Ti vs Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag during the electroslag remelting process under the protection of argon has been shown in Eq.(1), and the equilibrium constant of the reaction is shown in Eq.(2)[

19]:

lgK=lgaTi3·aAl2O32aAl4·aTiO23=lgfTi3[Ti]fAl4[Al]+lgaAl2O32aTiO23=35300T-9.94 (2)

where aAl and aTi are the activities of Al and Ti in the alloy, and aTiO2 and aAl2O3 are the activities of TiO2 and Al2O3 in the slag, respectively; the coefficients fAl and fTi are the activity coefficients of Al and Ti elements, respectively, and are calculated using Wagner's equation in the alloy with 1% as the standard state, as shown in Eq.(3):

lgfi=eij[%j] (3)

where fi represents the activity coefficient of element i in the alloy; eij represents the activity interaction coefficient of element j with respect to element i in the alloy. The activity interaction coefficients of the components in the alloy are listed in Table 1. The Incoloy 825 alloy composition is shown in Table 2.

Table 1 Activity interaction coefficient eij of the alloying ele-ments in Incoloy 825 alloy[20-23]
ElementMnCrNiAlTiCuMo
Al 0.034 0.045 -0.0376 0.040 - - -
Ti -0.120 0.025 -0.0166 - 0.048 0.014 0.016
Table 2 Chemical composition of the Incoloy 825 alloy (wt%)
CMnSiPSCrMoNiCuAlTiOFe
0.010 0.107 0.131 0.009 0.009 20.620 3.180 38.880 1.660 0.120 1.000 0.0026 Bal.

1.1 IMCT calculation of component activity in slag

According to the theoretical assumption of IMCT, the structural units existing in the slag system include four simple ions of Ca2+, Mg2+, F-, and O2-, two simple molecules of Al2O3 and TiO2 [

24,25], other related compounds (Table 3), and related chemical reactions (Table 4). The mole fraction of oxide in the slag can be expressed as b1=nCaO0, b2=nCaF20, b3=nMgO0, b4=nAl2O30, b5=nTiO20. According to the definition of IMCT, Eq.(4~9) can be acquired by defining N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5 as the active concentrations of the components. MATLAB R2017b (MathWorks, USA) was used to perform the calculations based on Eq.(4~9).

N1+N2++N5+Nc1+Nc2++Nc15=Ni=1 (4)
b1=(0.5N1+Nc1+3Nc3+12Nc4+Nc5+Nc6+Nc7          +3Nc8+4Nc9+3Nc14+11Nc15)ni=nCaO0 (5)
b2=(1/3N2+Nc15+Nc16)ni=nCaF20 (6)
b3=(0.5N3+Nc2+Nc11+Nc12+2Nc13)ni=nMgO0 (7)
b4=(N4+Nc1+Nc2+Nc3+7Nc4+2Nc5+6Nc6+Nc10          +Nc14+3Nc15+7Nc16)ni=nAl2O30 (8)
b5=(N5+Nc7+2Nc8+3Nc9+Nc10+Nc11+           2Nc12+Nc13)ni=nTiO20 (9)
Table 3 Expression of structural units as ion couples or complex molecules, their mole numbers, and mass action concentrations in 100 g CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-MgO-TiO2 slags based on IMCT
Item

Structural units as ion

couples or molecules

Number of structural

units or ion couples

Mole number of

structural unit, ni/mol

Mass action concentration of structural

unit or ion couple, Ni

Simple cation Ca2++ O2- 1 n1=nCa2+, CaO=nO2-, CaO N1=2n1ni=NCaO
Ca2++ 2F2- 2 n2=nCa2+, CaF2=2nF-, CaF2 N2=3n2ni=NCaF2
Mg2++ O2- 3 n3=nMg2+, MgO=nO2-, MgO N3=2n3ni=NMgO

Simple

molecule

Al2O3 4 n4=nAl2O3 N4=n4ni=NAl2O3
TiO2 5 n5=nTiO2 N5=n5ni=NTiO2

Complex

molecule

CaO·Al2O3 c1 nc1=nCaO·Al2O3 Nc1=nc1ni=NCaO·Al2O3
MgO·Al2O3 c2 nc2=nMgO·Al2O3 Nc2=nc2ni=NMgO·Al2O3
3CaO·Al2O3 c3 nc3=n3CaO·Al2O3 Nc3=nc3ni=N3CaO·Al2O3
12CaO·7Al2O3 c4 nc4=n12CaO·7Al2O3 Nc4=nc4ni=N12CaO·7Al2O3
CaO·2Al2O3 c5 nc5=nCaO·2Al2O3 Nc5=nc5ni=NCaO·2Al2O3
CaO·6Al2O3 c6 nc6=nCaO·6Al2O3 Nc6=nc6ni=NCaO·6Al2O3
CaO·TiO2 c7 nc7=nCaO·TiO2 Nc7=nc7ni=NCaO·TiO2
3CaO·2TiO2 c8 nc8=n3CaO·2TiO2 Nc8=nc8ni=N3CaO·2TiO2
4CaO·3TiO2 c9 nc9=n4CaO·3TiO2 Nc9=nc9ni=N4CaO·3TiO2
Al2O3·TiO2 c10 nc10=nAl2O3·TiO2 Nc10=nc10ni=NAl2O3·TiO2
MgO·TiO2 c11 nc11=nMgO·TiO2 Nc11=nc11ni=NMgO·TiO2
MgO·2TiO2 c12 nc12=nMgO·2TiO2 Nc12=nc12ni=NMgO·2TiO2
2MgO·TiO2 c13 nc13=n2MgO·TiO2 Nc13=nc13ni=N2MgO·TiO2
3CaO·3Al2O3·CaF2 c14 nc14=n3CaO·3Al2O3·CaF2 Nc14=nc14ni=N3CaO·3Al2O3·CaF2
11CaO·7Al2O3·CaF2 c15 nc15=n11CaO·7Al2O3·CaF2 Nc15=nc15ni=N11CaO·7Al2O3·CaF2
Table 4 Chemical reaction formulas of possibly formed complex molecules[26-28]
ReactionΔGiθ/J·mol-1Ni
(Ca2++O2-) + (Al2O3) = (CaO·Al2O3) 59413 - 59.413T Nc1=Kc1N1N4
(Mg2+ + O2-) + (Al2O3) = (MgO·Al2O3) -18828 - 6.276T Nc2=Kc2N3N4
3(Ca2 + + O2-) + (Al2O3) = (3CaO·Al2O3) -21757 - 29.288T Nc3=Kc3N13N4
12(Ca2+ + O2-) + 7(Al2O3) = (12CaO·7Al2O3) 617977 - 612.119T Nc4=Kc4N112N47
(Ca2+ + O2-) + 2(Al2O3) = (CaO·2Al2O3) -16736 - 25.522T Nc5=Kc5N1N42
(Ca2+ + O2-) + 6(Al2O3) = (CaO·6Al2O3) -22594 - 31.798T Nc6=Kc6N1N46
(Ca2+ + O2-) + (TiO2) = (CaO·TiO2) -79900 - 3.35T Nc7=Kc7N1N5
3(Ca2+ + O2-) + 2(TiO2) = (3CaO·2TiO2) -207100 - 11.35T Nc8=Kc8N13N52
4(Ca2+ + O2-) + 3(TiO2) = (4CaO·3TiO2) -292880 - 17.573T Nc9=Kc9N14N53
(Al2O3) + (TiO2) = (Al2O3·TiO2) -25270 + 3.924T Nc10=Kc10N4N5
(Mg2+ + O2-) + (TiO2) = (MgO·TiO2) -26400 + 3.14T Nc11=Kc11N3N5
(Mg2+ + O2-) + 2(TiO2) = (MgO·2TiO2) -27600 + 0.63T Nc12=Kc12N3N52
2(Mg2+ + O2-) + (TiO2) = (2MgO·TiO2) -25500 + 1.26T Nc13=Kc13N32N5
3(Ca2++ O2-) + 3(Al2O3) + (Ca2+ + 2F-) = (3CaO·3Al2O3·CaF2) -44492 - 73.15T Nc14=Kc14N13N2N43
11(Ca2++ O2-) + 7(Al2O3) + (Ca2++2F-) = (11CaO·7Al2O3·CaF2) -228760 - 155.8T Nc15=Kc15N111N2N47

1.2 FactSage calculation of component activity in slag

FactSage 7.3 thermodynamic software was used to calculate the Al2O3 and TiO2 activities in the slag at 1773 K. The FactPS and FToxid databases were used in the software. The pure solid standard state was selected for the calculation results.

The expressions of the equilibrium Al and Ti contents in the alloy are shown in Eq.(10) and Eq.(11), respectively:

lgXTi'=13lgaTiO23aAl2O32+4lgfAl+4lgXAl-3lgfTi+35300T-9.94 (10)
lgXAl'=14lgaAl2O32aTiO23-4lgfAl+3lgXTi+3lgfTi-35300T+9.94 (11)

where XTi and XAl are the initial Ti and Al contents in the alloy, and XTi' and XAl' are the equilibrium Ti and Al contents in the alloy, respectively.

2 Oxidation Regularity of Al and Ti Content in Alloy

A thermodynamic study of the electroslag remelting process can obtain the equilibrium Al and Ti content in the alloy at the end of the slag-metal reaction under the condition that the alloy and slag compositions are fixed. It is usually used to determine the optimal amount of TiO2 in the slag to provide a theoretical basis for further research. Pateisky et al[

19] used different slags for electroslag remelting experiments, and the changes in Al, Ti, and Si contents during the electroslag remelting process were studied. It was found that the reaction of Ti and Si in steel with Al2O3 in slag does not cause a uniform distribution of axial components in the ingot. Appropriate addition of TiO2 and SiO2 to the slag can reduce the loss of Ti and Si. Duan et al[29] systematically studied the effects of components and temperature of the slag on the equilibrium Al and Ti content in the alloy with the help of IMCT, and summarized the effects of the slag components on the oxidation behavior of Al and Ti elements in the alloy. The calculation result of equilibrium Ti content and component of slag is shown in Fig.1. And the relative importance of factors controlling the oxidation of Al and Ti is in the following order: TiO2>Al2O3>CaO>CaF2>MgO. It can be observed that as the temperature increases, the equilibrium Ti content gradually decreases. At the same time, the kinetic model proves that the mass transfer rate of Al and Ti in the alloy is much greater than that of Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag. Hou et al[30] proposed a thermodynamic model for the deoxidation of 1Cr21Ni5Ti stainless steel during electroslag remelting. When the amount of Al added is 0.15%, and the amount of TiO2 added to the slag is 4wt%, the Ti element of the steel can be ensured not to lose.

Fig.10 Mass transfer diagram of slag-metal interface

According to Eq.(10) and Eq.(11), the relationship of the equilibrium Ti and Al content in the alloy with the component content in the slag at different temperatures as calculated by both IMCT and FactSage is shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3, respectively. As the temperature increases from 1773 K to 1973 K, the oxidation of Ti in the alloy increases. The main reason is that as the temperature increases, the Gibbs free energy of Eq.(1) increases continuously, and the tendency of the reaction to proceed in the reverse direction increases. Yang and Park et al[

31] studied the slag-metal equilibrium experiment of CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-TiO2 and Ni-based alloys from 1773 K to 1873 K, and calculated the activity-composition relationship of Al2O3 and TiO2 in slag from 1823 K to 1873 K using FactSage software. The relationship is shown in Fig.4. Fig.4a indicates that when the activity ratio of Al2O3 and TiO2 is constant, the higher the temperature, the larger the ratio of Al2O3 to TiO2. More TiO2 is then needed to prevent Ti loss.

From Fig.2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, it can be observed that as the slag increases (0% to 35%), the equilibrium Ti content in the alloy decreases significantly, and the Al content increases significantly. When the content of Al or CaO is less than 15%, the degree of influence is Al2O3>CaO, but the loss of the equilibrium Ti content in the alloy is significantly slowed as the content of Al2O3 increases to larger than 15wt%. This is because as the Al2O3 content increases to 15wt%, the reaction between Al2O3 and CaO is strengthened, the activity of Al2O3 in the slag decreases, and the reaction strength of Al2O3 and Ti in the alloy is reduced, causing a decrease in the Ti content. Jiang et al[

32] proved that CaO can promote the oxidation of Ti in GH8825 alloy through experiments and calculations of CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-MgO-TiO2-SiO2 slag and GH8825 alloy slag at 1823 K. As shown in Fig.5a, as the CaO content increases, the Ti is oxidized and the Al content is increased. The main reason is that the optical basicity of TiO2 is smaller than that of Al2O3, and CaO is more easily combined with TiO2. With the increase in CaO content, the activity of TiO2 evidently decreases. Hou et al[33] reported that the increase in CaO content during the reaction of CaF2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-TiO2-SiO2 slag with 1Cr21Ni5Ti stainless steel significantly inhibits Al oxidation in the alloy and intensifies Ti oxidation. Therefore, when the content of CaO in the slag is high, it is necessary to increase the content of TiO2 to inhibit the oxidation of Ti in the alloy. This is especially true for low-fluorine slag, where the content of CaO and Al2O3 in the slag is higher, and control of the Ti element requires more TiO2 in the slag. At the same time, the relationship between Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag and the content of Al and Ti in the steel under different temperatures and CaO contents is established. Fig.6 shows that the contents of Al and Ti remain unchanged and they are the corresponding components of the slag.

From Fig.2c~2e and Fig.3c~3e, one can see that as the content of TiO2, CaF2, and MgO in the slag increases, the content of Ti in the alloy increases, and the content of Al decreases. The relative magnitudes of their effects are TiO2>CaF2>MgO. Increasing the TiO2 content can significantly inhibit the loss of Ti in the alloy. This is due to the increased reactivity of the TiO2 content with Al in the alloy. The Al in the alloy is oxidized to Al2O3 in the slag, and the Ti is reduced in the alloy. However, the initial Al and Ti contents in different alloys differ, and the optimal TiO2 addition also differs. Duan et al[

34] showed that during the reaction of the CaF2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-TiO2 slag system and the Inconel 718 alloy (Al and Ti contents are 0.43wt% and 1.13wt%, respectively) at 1773 K, the optimal TiO2 content in the slag is 4wt%. The results are shown in Fig.7. The optimal TiO2 addition for smelting the Incoloy 825 alloy at 1773 K is shown in Fig.2c. The calculated result using IMCT is 10%, and the calculated result using FactSage7.1 is 12%. Compared with the Inconel 718 alloy, the optimal content of TiO2 for the Incoloy 825 alloy is higher. Because the contents of Al and Ti in the alloy differ greatly, more TiO2 is required to control the loss of Ti in the alloy. Moreover, the appropriate addition of TiO2 to the slag can not only control the loss of Ti in the alloy,

but also reduce the viscosity of the slag[

35], which is beneficial for optimizing the kinetic conditions of the slag-metal reaction. From the calculation results of Jiang et al[32] highlighted in Fig.5b, it can be observed that the value of lg[(γTiO2)3/(γAl2O3)2] changes with the increase in MgO content is very small (γiOx represents the activity coefficient of component in slag). This shows that the change in MgO content has little effect on the equilibrium Al and Ti content in the alloy. From the experimental results of Yang and Park[31] in Fig.4b, we can see that the effect of CaF2 content on the changes in Al and Ti content in the alloy is small. The CaF2 content improves the fluidity and conductivity of the slag.

Comparing the calculated results of IMCT with those of FactSage in Fig.2 and Fig.3, it is observed that the oxidation of Ti in the alloy is greater than that obtained using FactSage. As can be seen from Fig.2c and Fig.3c, the FactSage results show that the optimal TiO2 content for controlling Al and Ti content in the alloy at 1773 K is 10%, while the IMCT calculation results show that it is 12%. The higher calculated result of IMCT indicates that the Ti element in the alloy has excessive loss when calculated by IMCT. In a previous study, the author conducted a high-temperature slag-metal equilibrium experiment on CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-MgO-Li2O-TiO2 low-fluorine slag and Incoloy 825 alloy at 1773 K[

36]. The experimental results are shown in Fig.8. The deviation between the calculated results of FactSage/IMCT and the experimental result is shown in Fig.9. It can be observed that the calculated result of FactSage has small deviation from the experimental result, while the calculated result of IMCT has a slightly larger deviation from the experimental result. There are two reasons for this result. First, loop iteration method in MATLAB is used in the IMCT calculation process, and certain errors occur during the process. Second, the FactSage database is relatively larger than the dataset used for IMCT. All IMCT data come from the data obtained in previous studies, but the data quantity is relatively less. This may be the main reason for the error; however, the calculation principle used for both data sets is the same, based on the Gibbs free energy of the component reaction in the slag. The calculation results indicate that as the TiO2 content is higher, the calculation results are closer to the experimental results. Summarizing the calculation and experimental results, it can be concluded that the optimal TiO2 addition amount in the slag is approximately 10% to prevent the oxidation of Al and Ti elements in the alloy during electroslag remelting of the Incoloy 825 alloy.

3 Mass Transfer of Al and Ti Elements During Electroslag Remelting

A kinetic study of the electroslag remelting process was used to predict the changes in the Al and Ti elements in the alloy. In the industrial electroslag process, the slag-metal reaction is more complicated and the thermodynamic applicability is reduced, but analysis is conducted mainly using kinetics. The mass transfer process of Al, Ti, TiO2, and Al2O3 during the electroslag remelting process is shown in Fig.10.

The mass transfer of slag and alloy components occurs in three regions of the slag, i.e. the metal interface at the electrode tip, the droplet-slag interface in the process of droplet dropping, and the molten metal pool-slag interface. The reaction formulas of Al and Ti in the alloy with Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag are as shown in Eq.(12) and Eq.(13):

[Al]+1.5[O]=(AlO1.5) (12)
[Ti]+2[O]=(TiO2) (13)

The expressions for the equilibrium constants are shown in Eq.(14) and Eq.(15).

lgKAl=lgaAlO1.5*aAl*aO*1.5=32000T-10.29 (14)
lgKTi=lgaTiO2*aTi*aO*2=34458T-11.96 (15)

According to the film-penetration theory, the diffusion flux of component i can be expressed as Eq.(16):

Ji=ki,mρm100Mi%i-%i*=ki,sρs100MiOx%iOx*-%iOx (16)

where Ji is the diffusion flux of i; ki,mand ki,s are the mass tran-sfer coefficients of i and iOx in the alloy and slag, respectively; Mi and MiOx are the relative atomic masses of i and iOx, respec-tively; ρm and ρs are the densities of the alloy and slag, respec-tively; %i* and %iOx* are the interfacial concentrations of the components in the molten alloy and slag, respectively.

According to Eq.(16), the interface concentration of element i in the alloy can be expressed as Eq.(17) and Eq.(18):

[%i]*=ki,mρmMiOxki,sρsMi[%i]+(%iOx)ki,mρmMiOxki,sρsMi+BiaO*x (17)
Bi=%iOx*%i*aO*x=MiOxfiKM%CaF2MCaF2+%iOxMiOxγiOx (18)

where aO* is the interface oxygen activity and KM is the equilibrium constant. The activity coefficient of the components in the alloy, fM, and the activity coefficient of component iOx in the slag, γiOx, are calculated using Eq.(19) and Eq.(20), respectively:

lgfi=eij[%j]+rij[%j]2 (19)
γiOx=aiOx%iOx (20)

where eij and rij are the first-order and second-order interaction parameters in the alloy, respectively. The first-order interac-tion coefficients are listed in Table 1. The currently available second-order interaction coefficients are summarized as: rAlC=-0.004, rAlAl=(-0.0011+0.17/T), rAlSi=-0.0006, rAlNi=0.000164, rSiSi=(-0.0055+6.5/T), rSiCr=0.00043, rTiTi=-0.001, rTiNi=0.0005[

37]. The activity of the components in the slag is represented by aiOx.

-d[%Al]dt=AWmkAl%Al-%AlO1.5BAlaO*1.5 (21)
-d[%Ti]dt=AWmkTi%Ti-%TiO2BTiaO*2 (22)
-d[%O]dt=AWmkO%O-aO*fO (23)
1ki=1ki,mρm+MiOxBiki,sρsMiaO*x (24)

where Wm is the mass of molten steel and ki is the comprehensive mass transfer coefficient. The interfacial oxygen activity can be determined according to the mass conservation of elements at the interface, as shown in Eq.(25).

1.5MAl·d[%Al]dt+2MTi·d[%Ti]dt-1MOd[%O]dt=0 (25)

According to Eq.(21~25), mathematical expressions for the change in Al and Ti contents in the alloy can be obtained, and expressed as Eq.(26) and Eq.(27):

[%Al]=EXP-AWmkAlt%Al-%AlO1.5BAlaO*1.5+%AlO1.5BAlaO*1.5 (26)
[%Ti]=EXP-AWmkTit×%Ti-%TiO2BTiaO*2+%TiO2BTiaO*2 (27)

According to the conservation of mass, the contents of Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag can be obtained. The mass transfer coefficients for different regions are obtained using Eq.(28) and Eq.(29):

ki,m=2Diπt (28)
ki,s=2DiOxπt (29)

where Di and DiOx are the diffusion coefficients of the components in the alloy and slag, respectively, and t is the slag-metal reaction time at different reaction regions. The values of the diffusion coefficients are listed in Table 5.

Table 5 Relevant component diffusion coefficients of alloy and slag[38]
Temperature/KDAl/× 10-5 cm2·s-1DTi/× 10-5 cm2·s-1DO/× 10-5 cm2·s-1DAl2O3/×10-6 cm2·s-1DTiO2/×10-5 cm2·s-1
1750 1.5 1.5 1.5 7.1 2.7
1773 2.7 2.7 2.7 7.8 3.0
1798 4.4 4.4 4.4 9.0 3.5
1923 57 57 57 35 6.0
1938 77 77 77 42 7.2
1950 92 92 92 50 8.0

The mathematical expressions for calculating the mass transfer resistance of the Al and Ti elements in the alloy and Al2O3 and TiO2 in the slag are shown in Table 6. According to Table 6, the rate-determining step during the process of electroslag remelting can be obtained.

Table 6 Mass transfer resistance of components in alloy and slag
Al, TiAl2O3TiO2
1ρm·ki,m MAlO1.5BAlMAlρsksaO*1.5 MTiO2BTiMTiρsksaO*2

According to the above kinetic model results, the change of Al and Ti elements in the ingot during the electroslag remelting process can be predicted. This reduces the experiment cost, and clarifies the control factors of Al and Ti content in the reaction process, as well as the rate-determining step in the slag-metal reaction process. It can provide theoretical guidance for improving the technology conditions of electroslag remelting.

Fig.11 Variation of Ti content in consumable electrodes and electroslag ingots[

38,44]: (a) Exp. A, (b) Exp. B, and (c) Exp. C

Fraser et al[

39, 40] proposed a kinetic model in the electroslag remelting process using the film-penetration theory to study the mass transfer behavior between the two systems, Mn + MnO and Fe + FeO. The model is relatively simple. The mass transfer process of the electroslag remelting process was analyzed in detail, and the mass transfer coefficient and mass transfer time were derived. Based on a large number of experiments, the feasibility and rationality of the model were verified. Schwerdtfeger et al[41] obtained a mass transfer model

of the Al+Al2O3, Ti+TiO2, and Fe+FeO systems in the electroslag process based on the results of Fraser's research, and predicted the Al, Ti, and Al2O3 and TiO2 contents in the steel in the electroslag remelting process. The composition change of the ingot is in good agreement with the experimental results. Wei et al[

42,43] optimized the model of Fraser, and proposed a kinetic model of the heterogeneous reaction in the electroslag process. The optimized model used a CaF2-Al2O3 (argon atmosphere) and a CaF2-CaO-Al2O3 (air atmosphere) slag system to subject SAE 1020 steel to electroslag remelting on a 1t UBC 250 kVA electroslag furnace. The results show that the burning loss of Si in the steel during the electroslag remelting process under an argon atmosphere is significantly improved, and the burning loss of Al, Si, and Mn in the alloy is mainly due to the strong oxidation of FeO. The model also explains that the influence of CaO in the slag on the activity of SiO2 and Al2O3 is the key to control Si/Al in the electroslag ingot. Hou et al[38,44] proposed a kinetic model for mass transfer in Al + Al2O3, Ti + TiO2, Si + SiO2, and Fe + FeO systems and tested the model with CaF2-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-TiO2-MgO slag and 1Cr21Ni5Ti in electroslag remelting experiments on a 50 kg electroslag furnace. The model calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The Al, Ti, and Si in the steel and Al2O3, TiO2, and SiO2 in the slag, as calculated by the model, accurately predicted the variation in the composition of the electroslag ingot. The model also identified the rate-determining steps of the reaction: mass transfer of alumina through the molten steel, silica through the slag, and titanium on both the metal and slag sides. In addition, it is found that the addition of 200 g TiO2 during the initial heating stage of electroslag remelting can significantly inhibit the loss of Ti.

Fig.11 illustrates that even under the optimal process conditions and slag system, Ti loss inevitably occurs in the ingot. This may be due to the complex environment in the actual electroslag process and the difficulty of imposing stable controls in the process. In the initial heating stage, particularly, the fluctuation range of metal elements is relatively large. Therefore, it is necessary to use the kinetic method in the electroslag remelting process to further explore improvements in process conditions. Our current kinetic model considers relatively few actual factors, and more accurate models are needed for the future development processes. However, our model more closely represents the actual process, which not only helps to have a clearer and deeper understanding of the entire electroslag remelting process, but also further optimizes the process parameters and slag system ratio, and more accurately controls the Al and Ti content.

4 Conclusions

1) Based on previous research, our study summarizes the thermodynamic and kinetic methods to control the Al and Ti content in the process of electroslag remelting. The results of the thermodynamic calculations indicate that an increase in temperature increases the oxidation of Ti and inhibits the oxidation of Al.

2) The increase in CaO and Al2O3 content in the slag increases the oxidation of Ti; however, when the Al2O3 content is greater than 15%, the oxidation of Ti in the alloy becomes weaker. The higher content of CaO and Al2O3 in the low-fluorine slag system requires addition of more TiO2 to inhibit the oxidation of Ti in the alloy. Increasing the TiO2 content significantly inhibits Ti oxidation, but different alloys require different amounts of TiO2.

3) The FactSage calculation result has a small deviation from the slag-metal equilibrium experiment result, while the IMCT calculation result is slightly larger than the experimental result. As the TiO2 content in the slag increases, the calculation results are closer to the experimental results. Based on the film-penetration theory, a kinetic model is proposed for the process of electroslag remelting, and the mathematical expressions for the change in the Al and Ti element content and the rate-determining step in the process of electroslag remelting can be obtained.

References

1

Ju J T, Ji G H, Tang C M et al. Steel Research International[J], 2020, 91(9): 2 000 111 [Baidu Scholar

2

Sun N, Wen C, Liu Z L et al. Rare Metal Materials and Engineering [J], 2018, 47(3): 860 [Baidu Scholar

3

Navid Sayyar, Morteza Shamanian, Behzad Niroumand. Journal of Materials Processing Technology[J], 2018, 262: 562 [Baidu Scholar

4

Guo J, Geng Z Y, Dong J X et al. Rare Metal Materials and Engineering[J], 2012, 41(11): 1929 [Baidu Scholar

5

Ju J T, Yang K S, Ji G H et al. Rare Metal Materials and Engineering [J], 2020, 49(11): 3676 [Baidu Scholar

6

Chen S C, Wang X P, Ning T X et al. Special Steel[J], 2017, 38(6): 49 [Baidu Scholar

7

Li S. Journal of Iron and Steel Research [J], 2011, 23(S2): 282 [Baidu Scholar

8

Xue Z X, Zheng Y X, Jiang F et al. Special Steel[J], 2016, 37(4): 37 [Baidu Scholar

9

Duan S C, Guo H J, Shi X et al. Chinese Journal of Engineering[J], 2018, 40(S1): 53 [Baidu Scholar

10

Hou D, Jiang Z H, Dong Y W et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2017, 48: 1885 [Baidu Scholar

11

Li S J, Cheng G G, Miao Z Q et al. ISIJ International[J], 2017, 57(12): 2148 [Baidu Scholar

12

Hou D, Jiang Z H, Qu T P et al. Journal of Iron and Steel Research International[J], 2019, 26: 20 [Baidu Scholar

13

Duan S C, Shi X, Wang F et al. Journal of Materials Research and Technology[J], 2019, 8(3): 2508 [Baidu Scholar

14

Chen C X, Wang Y, Fu J et al. Acta Metallurgica Sinica[J], 1981, 17(1): 50 [Baidu Scholar

15

Yin B, Li W M, Wu S P et al. Iron and Steel[J], 2019, 54(5): 86 [Baidu Scholar

16

Hou D, Liu F B, Qu T P et al. ISIJ International[J], 2018, 58(5): 876 [Baidu Scholar

17

Deng P H, Zhou L X, Pang M X et al. Special Steel[J], 2015, 36(1): 38 [Baidu Scholar

18

Hou D, Wang D Y, Qu T P et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2019, 50: 3088 [Baidu Scholar

19

Pateisky G, Biele H, Fleischer H J. Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology[J], 1972, 9: 1318 [Baidu Scholar

20

Suzuki K, Ban-Ya S, Hino M. ISIJ International[J], 2002, 42(2): 146 [Baidu Scholar

21

Yoshikawa T, Morita K. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2007, 38(4): 671 [Baidu Scholar

22

Pak J J, Jeong Y S, Tae S J et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2005, 36: 489 [Baidu Scholar

23

Jerzak W, Kalicka Z. Archives of Metallurgy and Materials[J], 2012, 57(2): 449 [Baidu Scholar

24

Yang X M, Jiao J S, Ding R C et al. ISIJ International[J], 2009, 49(12): 1828 [Baidu Scholar

25

Yang X M, Shi C B, Zhang M et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2011, 42: 1150 [Baidu Scholar

26

Yang X M, Shi C B, Zhang M et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2011, 42: 951 [Baidu Scholar

27

Li J X, Zhang J. Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing[J], 2000, 4: 316 [Baidu Scholar

28

Yang X M, Shi C B, Zhang M et al. Steel Research International[J], 2012, 83(3): 244 [Baidu Scholar

29

Duan S, Shi X, Mao M et al. Scientific Reports[J], 2018, 8: 5232 [Baidu Scholar

30

Hou D, Dong Y W, Jiang Z H et al. Journal of Northeastern University (Natural Science)[J], 2015, 36(11): 1591 [Baidu Scholar

31

Yang J G, Park J H. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2017, 48: 2147 [Baidu Scholar

32

Jiang Z H, Hou D, Dong Y W et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2016, 47: 1465 [Baidu Scholar

33

Hou D, Jiang Z H, Dong Y W et al. Ironmaking & Steelmaking[J], 2016, 43(7): 1 [Baidu Scholar

34

Duan S C, Shi X, Wang F et al. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 2019, 50: 3055 [Baidu Scholar

35

Shi C B, Zheng D L, Shin S H et al. International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials[J], 2017, 24(1): 18 [Baidu Scholar

36

Ju J T, An J L, Shi C B et al. Rare Metal Materials and Engineering[J], 2020, 49(1): 233 [Baidu Scholar

37

Karasev A, Suito H. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B[J], 1999, 30: 249 [Baidu Scholar

38

Hou D, Jiang Z H, Dong Y W et al. ISIJ International[J], 2017, 57(8): 1400 [Baidu Scholar

39

Fraser M E, Mitchell A. Ironmaking & Steelmaking[J], 1976, 3(5): 279 [Baidu Scholar

40

Fraser M E, Mitchell A. Ironmaking & Steelmaking[J], 1976, 3(5): 288 [Baidu Scholar

41

Schwerdtfeger K, Wepner W, Pateisky G. Ironmaking & Steelmaking[J], 1978, 5(3): 135 [Baidu Scholar

42

Wei J H, Mitchell A. Acta Metallurgica Sinica[J], 1984, 20(5): 387 [Baidu Scholar

43

Wei J H, Mitchell A. Acta Metallurgica Sinica[J], 1984, 20(5): 406 [Baidu Scholar

44

Hou D, Jiang Z H, Dong Y W et al. ISIJ International[J], 2017, 57(8): 1410 [Baidu Scholar