Effect of current on solute transport in electroslag remelting dual alloy ingot

The influence of current on species transport in electroslag remelting (ESR) dual alloy ingot was experimentally studied. In order to produce a dual alloy ingot, an electrode, constituted by a CrMoV alloy bar and a NiCrMoV alloy bar, was remelted by ESR furnace. The current ranged from 1500 A to 2100 A. Distributions of Ni mass fraction along the radius, the center-line and the midradius-line of the ingot were measured. The results indicate that the slag temperature and melt rate increase with a higher current, and the metal pool gets deeper. Ni is easier to flow downward to the pool bottom along the steeper solidification front, which tends to increase the macrosegregation. The transition zone width reduces with the increasing of the current, and the decreasing amplitude of the transition zone width at the ingot surface is less than that at the center.