An Investigation of the Crystallization of a Continuous Casting Mold Slag Using the Single Hot Thermocouple Technique

Abstract

The conditions under which crystallization develops in a mold slag must be understood in order to select or design a mold flux for use in the continuous casting of steels. In this paper, the crystallization of an industrial mold slag was quantified using a single hot thermocouple technique which, when combined with a video camera based observation system, allowed observation of the onset and growth of the crystals which were precipitated from the melt. The beginning of crystallization was determined by direct observation and the growth rate of crystals were measured by frame by frame image analysis of recordings of the progress of crystallization. Isothermal experiments were performed at different temperatures and a Time-Temperature-Transformation (TTT) diagram was determined for this industrial mold slag. X-ray diffraction of quenched samples was used to determine the type of crystalline phases that were precipitated. The TTT diagram was divided into two separate regions which corresponded to the precipitation of dicalcium silicate (Ca₂SiO₄) at temperatures over 1050°C and of Cuspidine (Ca₄Si₂O₇F₂) at temperatures below 1050°C. The evolution crystal fraction was described by Avrami's equation. This work indicates that industrial mold slags are easily undercooled, that crystallization occurs throughout the melt, that crystals grow initially as equiaxed dendrites and that the onset of crystallization is a function of cooling rate and must be described by either TTT or CCT curves.