Solidification Simulation and Experimental Investigation of Heavy Steel Ingot

In the present study, the solidification process of a 6 t steel ingot was simulated with Procast software. After finite element analysis, the positions of shrinkage cavity were determined. Simulation results show that there are deep shrinkage cavity and severe central porosity in the ingot with original adiabatic board. The predicted shape and depth of the shrinkage cavity at the top are compared to the experimental results, and good agreement was obtained. Based on the validated simulation conditions foregoing, the effect of the adiabatic board and exothermic compound on the depth of shrinkage cavity and the distribution of central porosity in the ingot was investigated. The simulated and experimental results show that the depth of shrinkage cavity and the severity of central porosity in the ingot were greatly reduced when the optimized adiabatic board with exothermic compound was used.