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Numerical Modeling of EBCHM for Large-Scale TC4 Alloy Round Ingots

  • Multiphase Flows in Materials Processing
  • Published:
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Abstract

The Electron beam cold hearth remelting (EBCHR) process has emerged as a key process in producing overlength TC4 round ingots. However, the quality of the ingots suffer from inhomogeneous composition segregation which is induced by improper operations. In the present study, a numerical model verified with experimental data from the literature was employed to investigate the finer details of EBCHM process. In order to track temperature evolution on the mold surface, heating by an approximating beam-pattern, user-defined function compiled with C code was added to the calculation. In addition, the evolution of the solid–liquid interface and melt-flow during EBCHM were also investigated under different operation conditions. The recommended pool morphology was found when the inlet velocity was 0.0295 m/s, the temperature of the inlet was maintained at 2173 K, and the mold surface was maintained at 1973 K. In those conditions, stirring inside the pool was strengthened to homogenize the composition, which may optimize the quality of the ingots.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support of the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFB0301200). In addition, the comments from Dr. Xiangming Li are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Lei Gao, Yuqin Zhang, Yehua Jiang & Rong Zhou

  2. R&D Center, Yunnan Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., Chuxiong, 675000, China

    Haiguang Huang

  3. Department of Engineering Mechanics, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Hongming Zhang

  4. Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Zhe Shi

Authors
  1. Lei Gao
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  2. Haiguang Huang
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  3. Yuqin Zhang
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  4. Hongming Zhang
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  5. Zhe Shi
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  6. Yehua Jiang
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  7. Rong Zhou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yehua Jiang.

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Gao, L., Huang, H., Zhang, Y. et al. Numerical Modeling of EBCHM for Large-Scale TC4 Alloy Round Ingots. JOM 70, 2934–2942 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-018-3048-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-018-3048-0

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