Mathematical and Numerical Predictions of Desulfurization Behavior in the Electromagnetically Controlled Vibrating-Electrode Electroslag Remelting Furnace

The desulfurization behavior in the electromagnetically controlled vibrating-electrode electroslag remelting (ESR) furnace was analyzed, modeled, and numerically simulated. A new transient fully coupled mathematical model with the magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) multiphase method based on the dynamic mesh-based approach has been developed. Results demonstrate that horizontally vibrating electrode in the slag results in the highest sulfur content contrary to vertically vibrating electrode. The maximum removal ratio of sulfur with horizontally vibrating electrode can reach up to 78 pct, which is higher than in the case of other vibration modes. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis with respect to the applied current, frequency, filling ratio, slag thickness, and insertion depth was performed. Calculated maximum sulfur content along the slag diameter decreased from 0.0754 to 0.0543 pct when the applied current increased from 1200 to 1800 A. The maximum sulfur concentration in the slag was reached at the frequency of 0.25 Hz and it increased with the increase in the filling ratio from 0.38 to 0.54. On the other hand, when the thickness of the slag pool decreased, the maximum sulfur concentration also decreased from 0.0812 to 0.0473 pct. With the increase in insertion depth from 2.5 to 7.5 mm, the maximum mass fraction of sulfur in slag increased by 5 pct.