Thermosolutal flow in steel ingots and the formation of mesosegregates

The influence of the thermosolutal convection of the liquid steel in the solidifying core of a 3.3-ton ingot on the formation of banded mesosegregates is investigated by a multiscale solidification model. We first show how the thermosolutal flow structure in the solidifying core depends on the relation between the interacting thermal and solutal buoyancy forces and the coupling by the phase-change kinetics. We further show that banded mesosegregates are triggered by instabilities of the solidification front, that their location is determined by flow instabilities, and that their “A” or “V” orientation depends on the global direction of the flow circulation. Moreover, the results show that local remelting is not necessary to develop a channel mesosegregate. Destabilization of the mushy zone with local variations of the solidification velocity is sufficient.