Chair “Foundry and Reinforcing Technologies”, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia:

A. V. Sulitsin, Assistant Professor, e-mail: kafedralp@mail.ru

R. K. Mysik, Professor

S. V. Brusnitsyn, Professor

JSC “Linde Uraltekhgaz”, Ekaterinburg, Russia:

D. D. Lashchenko, Head of Metallurgical Course

M. O. Ivkin (member of JSC "Revda Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Works") was the participant in this work.

Improvement of ingot quality is one of urgent problems in foundry. Some difficulties, related to cracking and gas porosity, occur in Cu – Ni ingots manufacturing process in the JSC “Revda Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Works”. There was carried out the investigation of heat-exchange process under semi-continuous casting of MNZh5-1 alloy ingot (200 mm diameter). The ingot cooling curves were drawn on the basis of experimental data. Temperature change differs in various ingot zones during crystallization process. There was defined the temperature difference between the center and surface of the ingot in semi-continuous casting process, which is increased with rise of solid metal skin in crystallizer. Maximum temperature difference was observed in the contact zone of cooling water with ingot. Movement of ingot into crystallizer decreases the temperature difference in ingot cross-section. Stable solidification front was established in continuous and semi-continuous casting, which shapes the ingot pool. Solidification front geometry depends on heat dissipation conditions. Profile and depth of the ingot pool were determined by pouring molten lead. In order to reduce the temperature difference in the ingot's cross section and hot cracking possibility, it is advisable to use the “blind” crystallizer without leaving water on ingot with secondary cooling zone, placed at 150–200 mm from bottom flange of crystallizer. Conducted investigation results will be used for semi-continuous casting manufacturing process modification and improvement of ingot quality.

1. Sulitsin A. V., Mysik R. K., Brusnitsyn S. V., Furman E. L. Liteynye poroki otlivok. Prichiny vozniknoveniya i sposoby ikh preduprezhdeniya (Casting defects of foundries. Reasons of appearance and methods of their prevention). Ekaterinburg : Ural State Technical University — Ural Polytechnic Institute, 2005. 266 p. 

2. Brusnitsyn S. V., Mysik R. K., Loginov Yu. N., Gruzdeva I. A., Sulitsin A. V. Defekty slitkov chernykh i tsvetnykh splavov, prednaznachennykh dlya plasticheskoy deformatsii (Defects of ingots of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, intended for plastic deformation). Ekaterinburg : Ural State Technical University-Ural Polytechnic Institute, 2007. 175 p. 

3. Kats A. M., Shadek E. G. Teplofizicheskie osnovy nepreryvnogo litya slitkov tsvetnykh metallov i splavov (Thermal-physics basis of continuous casting of ingots of non-ferrous metals and alloys). Moscow : Metallurgiya, 1983. 207 p. 

4. Genkin V. Ya., Tesaulov A. T., Staroseletskiy M. I., Pikus M. I., Zhuravlev V. A. Nepreryvnolitye kruglye zagotovki (Continuous-cast round billets). Moscow : Metallurgiya, 1984. 144 p.

5. Mysik R. K., Brusnitsyn S. V., Lashchenko D. D., Titova A. G. Vliyanie tekhnologicheskikh parametrov na glubinu lunki pri polunepreryvnom lite splava MNZh5-1 (Influence of technological parameters on the depth of hole during semi-continuous casting of the alloy MNZh5-1). Liteyshchik Rossii = Russian foundry worker. 2004. No. 11. pp. 25–30.

6. Mysik R. K., Lashchenko D. D., Brusnitsyn S. V. Issledovanie teploobmennykh protsessov, protekayushchikh v nepreryvnolitykh slitkakh splava MNZh5-1 (Research of heat-exchange processes in continuous-cast ingots of alloy MNZh5-1). Liteyshchik Rossii = Russian foundry worker. 2005. No. 1. pp. 5–8.

7. Goloveshko V. F. Opyt Liteyno-Proizvodstvennogo Obedineniya “Krasnyy vyborzhets” po intensifikatsii protsessa litya medi i mednykh splavov v svete realizatsii programmy “Intensifikatsiya-90” (Experience of Casting-Production Association “Krasnyy vyborzhets” in intensification of casting process of copper and copper alloys in realization of the program “Intensifikatsiya-90” (“Intensification-90”)). Leningrad : Leningrad House of Scientific-Technical Information, 1986. 28 p.