Magnetically controlled electroslag melting of titanium alloys

Ya. Kompan¹ - I. Protokovilov¹ - Y. Fautrelle² - Yu. Gelfgat³ - A. Bojarevics³

¹ Paton Electric Welding Institute, 11 Bozhenko Str., 03680, Kiev, Ukraine
² EPM Laboratory, SIMAP ENSHMG, BP 95, 38402 Saint Martin d'Heres cedex, France
³ Institute of Physics, University of Latvia, 32 Miera str., LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia

Abstract
Series of titanium alloy remeltings have been performed in an experimental electroslag setup. The typical electrovortical flow pattern in both the slag and the liquid metal pool has been radically modified by imposing an external magnetic field. Several configurations of the applied magnetic field were considered and tested during actual remelting. The best results were obtained during remelting in the presence of a pulse axial magnetic field providing fine-grained titanium alloy ingots of uniform composition. It has been shown that the new process of magnetically controlled electroslag melting is a highly competitive alternative method for the production of multi-component titanium alloys. Further modifications of the process are proposed with an aim to optimize energy efficiency and equipment costs. Tables 1, Figs 9, Refs 3.