Electroslag remelting (ESR), also known as electro-flux remelting, is a process of remelting and

refining {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and other alloys for

mission-critical A mission critical factor of a system is any factor (component, equipment, personnel, process, procedure, software, etc.) that is essential to business operation or to an organization. Failure or disruption of mission critical factors will resu ...

applications in aircraft, thermal power stations,

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...

s, military technology and others. The electroslag remelting (ESR) process is used to remelt and refine steels and various super-alloys, resulting in high-quality ingots. This process can be started up through vacuum induction melting. The ESR process uses the as-cast alloy as a consumable electrode. Electric current (generally AC) is passed between the electrode and the new ingot, which is formed in the bottom of a water-cooled copper mold. The new ingot is covered in an engineered slag that is superheated by the electric current. The electrode tip is slowly melted from contact with the slag. These metal droplets travel through the slag to the bottom of the water-cooled mold and slowly freeze as the ingot is directionally solidified upwards from the bottom of the mold. The slag pool floats above the refined alloy, continuously floating upwards as the alloy solidifies. The molten metal is cleaned of impurities that chemically react with the slag or otherwise float to the top of the molten pool as the molten droplets pass through the slag.Article title
/ref> Electroslag remelting uses highly reactive slags ( calcium fluoride, lime, alumina, or other oxides are usually the main components) to reduce the amount of type-A

sulfide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds lar ...

present in biometal alloys. It is a common practice in European industries. ESR reduces other types of inclusions as well, and is seen as an alternative to the vacuum arc remelting (VAR) method that is prevalent in US industries. An example of the use of the electro-slag refined (ESR) steel technique is the L30 tank gun. CrNi60WTi is a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

which is best formed by either electro-slag remelting or vacuum arc remelting. This alloy can be used for the construction of

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

References

External links

Ensuring Mold Steel Polishability
at moldmakingtechnology.com

at freepatentsonline.com {{Iron and steel production Steelmaking Metallurgical processes

See also

References

External links