Numerical simulation of cellular automaton in vacuum arc remelting during the solidification process

Abstract

the mathematical model was used to simulate the distribution regular of the temperature field during the vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process, and it was also investigated how the regular of crystallizer cooling intensity, melting temperature, and melting rate affected the shape of the melt pool, grain growth, and grain distribution during the microstructure of the solidification in the VAR process. The findings demonstrate that when the melting temperature increasing, the melt pool's depth increasing, the width of the mushy zone decreases, its form changes from bowl-shaped to V-shaped, the average grain radius increasing, and the proportion of columnar crystals increases. The average grain size increases with increasing crystallizer cooling intensity, and these effects are also reflected in the depth of the melt pool and the width of the mushy zone, which decrease with increasing melt pool cooling intensity. When the melting rate increases, the width of the mushy zone and the depth of the melt pool increase, the temperature gradient of the melt pool decreases sharply, the average grain size decreases, and the proportion of equiaxed crystals increases.