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The thermal regime during electron beam hearth remelting

University of British Columbia

Electron beam hearth remelting is extensively used in refining of superalloys, titanium alloys and the recycling of these materials. The removal of impurities and exhogenous particles during the hearth melting operation depends primarily on the time at temperature relationship developed within a pool of molten metal. In the past hearth melters have acted largely on empirical evidence to specify such parameters as melt rates, power levels and skull sizes. This work describes a mathematical model which could be used to predict certain parameters (such as pool volume or alloy element evaporation rates) when given skull geometry, power input and melt rate. A three dimensional steady state heat transfer model of both the skull and water cooled copper mould during electron beam hearth remelting has been developed. The model has been used to investigate the effects of surface temperature, liquid motion, power input, skull geometry, presence of the hearth mould and melt rate on parameters such as pool volume during skull melting. In general the choice of any combination of operating parameters depends on a balance between the refining capacity of the process (i.e. liquid volume) and the loss of alloy elements by evaporation. In the case of melting pure materials (e.g. CP titanium) the balance is between refining capacity and efficient energy use. It was found that forced convection is significantly more effective in increasing the volume of the liquid pool than any other single parameter. Increasing the power input to the skull, increasing the skull width and removing the water cooled copper mould from around the skull also increase the pool volume. The evaporation rates of alloy elements within the skull were most effected by changes in the power distribution and the degree of liquid motion.

Text

2010-07-21

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26748

Materials Engineering

University of British Columbia

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