Transient Simulations and Experiments on Compound Roll Produced by Electroslag Remelting Cladding.

In this study, a comprehensive transient numerical model of electroslag remelting cladding process with dynamic mesh technology is simulated to study the effect of the applied power on the uniformity of melting layer depth along the height of the as-prepared compound roll. The multi-physics fields are solved by the ANSYS Parametric Design Language and Fluent simulation software. The simulation results show that the mandrel absorbs heat (Q_msi) from the slag pool and the melting layer is formed on the mandrel surface. A sufficient metallurgical bonding quality between the mandrel and the clad is confirmed by the close contact of the melting layer with the molten bath of the clad. In addition, the use of high and low power during the early and later stages, respectively, improves the uniformity of the melting layer depth along the height. When high power (235 kW) is applied during the early stage, the height of the compound roll without metallurgical bonding decreases to 52 mm. After the melting layer depth increases to 6 mm along the height, the power decreases to 187 kW. The slag temperature and Q_msi decreases rapidly, and consequently, the melting layer depth initially decreases and then slightly increases along the height. The melting layer depth is acceptable within height of 52 to 260 mm. The change tendency of the melting layer depth along the height of the compound roll obtained by the semi-industrial experiment is in agreement with the simulation results, proving the reliability of the process. Moreover, the results of tensile and Charpy impact tests indicate good metallurgical bonding quality. The process investigated in this paper is expected to be efficient for industrial production of the compound rolls with a uniform melting layer depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]