FLUXES FOR ELECTROSLAG

REFINING

Presented by

NAME: Gaurav Kumar

ROLL No: 17MM8058

Special thanks to
 Dr. Satadal Ghorai

Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Department

National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
 Abstract:

The electroslag remelting process (ESR) is a well-known refining process

suitable for the production of high-quality metals with advanced
properties. it provides better control of the solidification microstructure
and chemical homogeneity; it also enables greater cleanliness and better
mechanical properties.
The ESR Process  in  manufacturing of  high-alloyed steels and other alloys
with a controlled chemical composition are used in aerospace, in thermal-
and nuclear-power plants, in chemical engineering, for military
equipment, special tools, etc.
One of the most commonly used slag system consists of varying amounts of
the components CaF2, Al2O3 and CaO .This system is suitable for a wide
range of steel and nickel alloys .
Additionally, sometimes other additives like MgO, SiO2  whose influence
on refining capabilities and chemical or thermochemical behavior are
studies to check the properties like viscosity , slag liquidus temperature
etc.
 Introduction

The main purpose of using electroslag refining process is that,

during ingot casting the reoxidation of the melt occurs, thus increasing the
inclusion content. Segregations on the macro and micro scales are also
characteristic for ingot casting. These cause anisotropy in the mechanical
properties of the steel. The ESR process almost completely removes the
macro-segregation phenomenon in heavy steel ingots, thus ensuring a more
homogeneous chemical composition and a finer microstructure with fewer
and more evenly distributed non-metallic inclusions than in cast ingots. The
utilized slag in this process plays an important role in minimizing
detrimental parameters such as nonmetallic inclusions or gas content. The
refining mechanisms could be divided into physical or chemical phenomena,
but even a combination between both is possible. A suitable choice of slag
components can modify the slag behavior in the desired way as different
components have different impacts on slag properties like visc0sity, slag
liquidus temperature etc.
 Literature survey
I. Fundamentals of Electroslag Refining Process:
ESR is a continuous process, where during the remelting of the
consumable electrode, refining and solidification of the steel occur
simultaneously. Cast, rolled or forged ingots can be used as a
consumable electrode. The ESR process is based on an electrical current
running via an electrode through the molten slag and ingot. Due to the high
electrical resistance of the slag, the slag heats up and melts. The
consumable electrode is immersed in the liquid slag where the slag heat
gradually melts the tip of the electrode. Liquefied steel is dripping from
the electrode tip and is refined when passing through the liquid slag, with
oxides and Sulphur being bound in the slag. After passing through the slag,
the steel cools down and solidifies again into a remelted ingot. The whole
remelting process takes place in a water-cooled copper Mould, which allows
the remelted ingot to solidify quickly and very uniformly. The Mould with the
slag pool is moving upwards as the new ingot is formed. The design of the
Mould can be in the form of fixed long Moulds or collar-type Moulds. The use
of collar-type Moulds with movable Moulds or a movable base plate, gives the
possibility of producing ingots of any required length. Furthermore, the ESR
enables the production of ingots with the desired shape, i.e., round, square, 
rectangular.
A visual presentation of the ESR process can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the ESR unit: a) retracting ingot,

b) rising Mould.
 II. Slag systems and their required properties.
The slag plays an important role in the ESR process; it generates Joule
heat for the melting of the electrode, refines the liquid metal through the
absorption of non-metallic inclusions, desulphurization, protects the
metal from contamination, provides lubrication for the
copper mould/solidifying steel shell interface, and controls the horizontal
heat transfer between solidifying metal and mould. The most important
part of the ESR process is the (molten) slag medium itself. Some of the
basic purposes are:
• Acting as heating element via Joule heating.
• Acting as solvent for non-metallic inclusions.
• Refining the metal.
• Protection of the liquid metal from atmosphere.
The Slags for ESR are usually based on calcium fluoride (CaF2), lime
(CaO) and alumina (Al2O3). Silica (SiO2), magnesia (MgO) and titania
(TiO2) may be present, depending on the alloy to be remelted and
refined. The CaF2 content increases the solubility of basic
components in the slag (CaO and MgO) and thus increases the
effective sulphide capacity of the slag.
In order to get desired function, the slag must have some well-
defined properties, which are:
• its melting point must be lower than that of the metal to be
remelted,
 • it must be electrically efficient, 
• its composition must ensure the desired chemical reactions, 
• it must have suitable viscosity at the remelting temperature.
  Many of the slags used in ESR can be described with the ternary
fluorspar-lime-alumina system.
The binary lime-alumina system on the other hand, has only a limited
range of slags with suitable melting characteristics, while the binary
calcium fluoride-lime system is used in cases where a high degree of
desulphurization is required. However, its disadvantage is having a
low resistivity. High lime contents also increase the risk of moisture
retention or hydrogen pick-up. A certain amount of SiO2 addition into
the ESR slag in the case of the drawing-ingot-type ESR process is
important for improving the lubrication performance, controlling
silicon and aluminium content in the
liquid steel and modifying oxide-type inclusions. Furthermore, the
addition of SiO2 suppresses the crystallization temperature of CaF2-
Al2O3-CaO slags.
 Furthermore, the MgO and SiO2 in fluoride-containing slags affect
the slag’s surface tension. Although CaF2 is a crucial component in
any ESR slag and it greatly decreases the melting temperature of the
slag systems, it is insoluble in oxide phases.
                                                  III. Viscosity
The viscosity is generally viewed as the degree of friction between two
interacting layers of liquids. Since molten slags are considered to be ionic
liquids, the viscosity is strongly dependent on the size of the slag ions as
well as the electrostatic interactions. 

                                        IV.  Modelling of slag viscosities
Several equations have been proposed for the estimation of the flux and
slag viscosities. Here we will use an equation proposed by Riboud and co-
workers to estimate the slag viscosity.
Riboud and co-workers have developed a model for estimating the
viscosities of Mold fluxes for continuous casting, by making use of the
Weymann equation. The Weymann equation is expressed in the following
form
μ = Ακ  Τ exp(Βκ/Τ), (in Pas) ...........................(1)
where μ is the viscosity, Τ the absolute temperature, Ακ and  Βκ are the
parameters, respectively.  The parameters Ακ and Βκ of viscosity equation
are calculated from the mole fraction of the of slag component.
 Ακ= exp (-19.81 +1.73XCao'+5.82 XCaF2 + 7.02 XNa2o-35.76 XAl2o3)
Βκ =31140 - 23896 XCa0 - 46356 XCaF2 -39159X' Na2 o'+6883 3 Al2O3.

                     V. Modelling of slag Liquidus Temperature.

The various commercial models available are capable of calculating reliable values
of Tliq  for multi-component slags over large compositional ranges. .one such model
to estimate slag liquidus temperature is given by-
   4. RESULT AND GRAPH:

Considering the slag system (70 wt%CaF2 -15 wt%Al2O3

-15 wt%CaO);
Figure1: variation of viscosity of slag (70 wt%CaF2 -15 wt%Al2O3 -15 wt
%CaO) with temperature.
Now considering the slag system (60wt%CaF2 -10wt%Al2O3 -10wt%CaO
-10wt%MgO -10wt%SiO2).
Figure2: variation of viscosity of slag (60wt%CaF2 -10wt%Al2O3 -10wt%CaO
-10wt%MgO -10wt%SiO2) with temperature.
Now considering the slag system (50wt%CaF2 -30wt%Al2O3 -20wt%CaO),
Figure 3: variation of viscosity of slag(50wt%CaF2 -30wt%Al2O3 -20wt%CaO)
with temperature.
Now considering the slag system (40wt%CaF2 -30wt%Al2O3 -30wt%CaO)
Figure 4: variation of viscosity of slag (40 wt%CaF2 -30 wt%Al2O3 -30 wt
%CaO) with temperature.
Discussion:

   From the equation of Riboud and co-workers we have estimate the slag
viscosity, we observed that as the temperature increases
the viscosity decreases. 
 we have calculated liquidus temperature of slag and we  observed that
the liquidus temperature of slag is less than the temperature at which we
have calculated viscosity of different-different slag system.
we have  calculated the liquidus slag temperature by varying composition of
slag system, here we  observed that as we are decreasing the composition of
CaF2 the liquidus temperature of slag is increasing. 

The  slag system in the ESR process plays an important role ,as it absorbs non-

metallic inclusions, removes sulphur, influences the ingot surface and the melting

rate as well as the overall economics of the process.

References

1. K. Mills, The estimation of slag properties, Southern African

Pyrometallurgy, March, 2011.
2. Hoyle, G. – “Electroslag Processes – Principles and Practice”, Applied
Science Publishers LTD, London & New York, 1983.
3. Equation for Estimating Viscosities of Industrial Mold Fluxes Department
of Materials Science and Processing, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka
University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
4. Mehrabi, K. et al. – “The Effect of Slag types and Melting Rate on Electro-
Slag Remelting (ESR) Processing”, International Journal of ISSI, Vol. 2, No.
1, 2005, pp. 37-42. 
5. Radwitz, S. et al. – “Influencing the Electroslag Remelting Process by
varying Fluorine Content of the utilized Slag”, Proceedings of the European
Metallurgical Conference, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2015, pp.887-896.
6. Duckworth, W.E. and Hoyle, G. (1969) Electro-Slag Refining. Chapman and
Hall, London.
Thank You