Large steel ingots are
widely used in heavy-duty equipment for the nuclear power, hydropower, and
metallurgical industries. However, severe macrosegregation induced by thermosolutal
convection, grain sedimentation, and solidification shrinkage during
solidification deteriorates the chemical homogeneity and service reliability of
ingots. To understand the macrosegregation
formation mechanism and develop effective control strategies, a mixed columnar
dendritic-equiaxed three-phase solidification model was developed within the
framework of the Eulerian-Eulerian approach. By
tracking the position of the columnar dendrite tip and capturing the equiaxed
dendrites at the columnar front, the effects of the equiaxed-dendritic grain
movement, interphase momentum exchange, and columnar-to-equiaxed transition
(CET) on macrosegregation in a 2.45 t Fe-0.45%C (mass fraction) steel ingot
were investigated. The predicted maximum negative segregation at the ingot bottom
reaches approximately -0.27, and the length of the
conical negative segregation zone is approximately 2/3 of the ingot’s height.
These results are consistent with the experimental measurements reported in the
literature. Increasing in interphase momentum exchange intensity between the
liquid and equiaxed phases enhances the liquid-solid coupling and weakens the
relative slip of equiaxed grains, thereby shifting the CET position and further
reshaping the morphology and intensity of the V-segregation bands. Reducing the
heat transfer intensity at the hot top decreases the maximum positive
segregation there from 0.76 to 0.26. However, the positive segregation bands in
the transition zone beneath the hot top worsen. The combined scheme of sidewall
gradient cooling and hot-top insulation reduced the maximum positive
segregation along the ingot centerline from 0.76 to 0.10 and the maximum
negative segregation from -0.27 to -0.12, effectively
suppressing the positive segregation at the ingot top, A-segregation beneath
the hot top, and the negative segregation at the ingot bottom.