Study on the Melting Temperature of CaF2-CaO-MgO-Al2O3-TiO2 Slag under the Condition of a Fixed Ratio of Titanium and Aluminum in the Steel during the Electroslag Remelting Process

Abstract

During the process of electroslag remelting (ESR) of steel containing titanium and aluminum, the activity ratio between titania and alumina in CaF₂-CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-TiO₂ slag must be fixed in order to guarantee the titanium and aluminum contents in the ESR ingots. Under the condition of fixed activity ratio between titania and alumina in the slag, the melting temperature of slag should be investigated to improve the surface quality of ESR ingots. Therefore, this paper focuses on finding a kind of slag with low melting temperature that can be used for producing steel containing titanium. In the current study, the thermodynamic equilibrium of 3[Ti] + 2(Al₂O₃) = 4[Al] + 3(TiO₂) between SUS321 steel and the two slag systems (CaF₂:MgO:CaO:Al₂O₃:TiO₂ = 46:4:25:(25 - x):x and CaF₂:MgO:CaO:Al₂O₃:TiO₂ = 46:4:(25 - 0.5 x):(25 - 0.5 x):x) are studied in an electrical resistance furnace based on Factsage software. After obtaining the equilibrium slag with fixed activity ratio between titania and alumina, the melting temperatures of the two slag systems are studied using slag melting experimental measurements and phase diagrams. The results show that the slag systems CaF₂:MgO:CaO:Al₂O₃:TiO₂ = 46:4:25:(25 - x):x, which consists of pre-melted slag S0 (CaF₂:MgO:CaO:Al₂O₃ = 46:4:25:25) and pre-melted slag F1 (CaF₂:MgO:CaO:TiO₂ = 46:4:25:25), can not only control the aluminum and titanium contents in steel, but also have the desired low melting temperature property.

Keywords: electroslag remelting; melting temperature of slag; phase diagram; steel containing titanium; thermodynamics.