Study on macrosegregation in heavy steel ingots

Macrosegregation in heavy steel ingots was studied through numerical and experimental studies of a 500 kg ingot. The numerical model used heat conduction coupled with thermal convection. Simulation results confirm that a small 500 kg ingot poured in a sand mould has a solidification time that is equal to that of a 10 000 kg industrial ingot cast in an iron mould. Accordingly, the sand moulded ingot exhibits more severe macrosegregation compared to the iron moulded ingot, indicating the possibility that a relatively small ingot in sand can simulate conditions in a much heavier steel ingot in a conventional iron mould. Experiment demonstrated that a 500 kg ingot exhibited all the types of macrosegregation, including A- and V-segregates and negative and positive segregation commonly found in a 65 000 kg steel ingot.