Development of Continuous Casting Technology of Mn-Si-Fe Alloy
Abstract: Mn-Si-Fe alloy is an important functional alloy material. Its production process has been applied the traditional method of Gohringer, namely, the single push to refined ingots by liquid and then directly hot-rolled wire. This traditional production process cannot meet the specialized requirements of some special products. With continuous casting technology being developed and matured, this study takes Mn-Si-Fe alloy as an example to analyze suggestions and difficulties of the continuous casting technology development. The results show that continuous casting method of Mn-Si-Fe alloy has certain advantages. It is suggested that continuous casting process should be further studied and developed.
Keywords: Mn-Si-Fe alloy; continuous casting technology; Gohringer; Suggestions and Difficulties
1 Introduction
Mn-Si-Fe alloy is a new type of high-performance alloy material, which has good electrical conductivity, excellent thermal conductivity, mechanical strength and antistatic capability. In recent years, it has been increasingly used in electronic parts, household appliances, power grid industry and automatic control system. Currently, the traditional production methods of Mn-Si-Fe alloy are mostly single push-refined-ingot-hot-rolled-wire, which is completed by liquid. This traditional production process has long process, low production efficiency and relatively high power consumption. Therefore, continuous casting has become an effective way to realize a low-cost and high-efficiency production of Mn-Si-Fe alloy. At present, the research of continuous casting technology for Mn-Si-Fe alloy has been more and more popular in domestic and international technology circles.
2 Suggestions and Difficulties of Continuous Casting Technology
2.1 Suggestions
With the continuous development of casting production technology and equipment, the continuous casting technique of Mn-Si-Fe alloy has a certain potentiality. At present, the continuous casting system of Mn-Si-Fe alloy has many advantages including high production efficiency, short production cycle, low energy consumption, and relatively high product quality. Therefore, the application of continuous casting technology is conducive to the realization of high-efficiency and low-cost production of Mn-Si-Fe alloy.
2.2 Difficulties
Although the continuous casting techniques show many advantages, they are still not applied to the actual production, due to various difficulties existing in the process, such as equipment type selection, casting design, process parameter design, alloy composition analysis and experimental verification.
(1)Equipment type selection. The type selection of continuous casting equipment is the basic technical premise of continuous casting production. The lack of theoretical knowledge, numerical calculation software and experimental equipment in the selection of continuous casting equipment has restricted the development of Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process.
(2)Casting design. Due to the complexity of the molten metal flow in the continuous casting process, the design of Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process requires more consideration, including the determine of parameters such as the flow speed, flow volume and the distribution of heat.
(3)Process parameter design. In continuous casting process, the design of process parameters is of great significance to the production of Mn-Si-Fe alloy. The main process parameters include casting temperature, flow rate, mold lubrication and casting product size.
(4)Alloy composition analysis. In order to meet the needs of Mn-Si-Fe alloy in casting production, the composition and properties of molten metal must be properly controlled. The proper design of alloy composition can ensure the stable growth of crystal grains during the Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process.
(5)Experimental verification. All continuous casting processes must be verified by experimental verification in order to be more qualified for the application in production. The extensive experimental verification of Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process is the key factor prerequisite for the development and application of continuous casting process.
3 Conclusion
Mn-Si-Fe alloy is an important functional alloy material. Through the analysis of suggestions and difficulties in the process of Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting development, it can be found that the Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process has certain advantages and many difficulties. To develop and apply the Mn-Si-Fe alloy continuous casting process, selecting suitable equipment, engineering design, process parameters design, alloy material analysis and experimental verification are necessary. It is suggested that continuous casting process should be further studied and developed.
