Effects of Mineral Raw Materials on Melting–Crystallization Properties and Microstructure of Fluorine-Free Mold Flux for High-Titanium Steel Continuous Casting.
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| Title: | Effects of Mineral Raw Materials on Melting–Crystallization Properties and Microstructure of Fluorine-Free Mold Flux for High-Titanium Steel Continuous Casting. |
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| Authors: | Zhang, Di1,2 (AUTHOR), Han, Xiuli1,2 (AUTHOR) hanxl@ncst.edu.cn, Liu, Lei1,2,3 (AUTHOR), Liu, Ziyao1,3 (AUTHOR), Yang, Yue1,2 (AUTHOR), Wu, Lei1,3 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Ziyi1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Materials (1996-1944). Jun2026, Vol. 19 Issue 12, p2600. 16p. |
| Subjects: | Continuous casting, Minerals, Melting, Crystallization, Microstructure, Titanium, Blast furnaces |
| Abstract: | During the continuous casting of high-titanium steel, traditional fluorine-containing mold fluxes are prone to causing fluoride contamination, equipment corrosion, and intensified slag–metal interface reactions. There is an urgent need to develop highly adaptable fluorine-free mold flux systems. In this study, titanium-containing blast furnace slag was used as the primary base material, while borax, soda ash, and witherite were selected as fluoride-substituting mineral raw materials. The effects of these mineral raw materials on the melting properties, crystallization behavior, crystalline phases, and microstructure of fluorine-free mold fluxes were systematically investigated, and an optimized mold flux design suitable for continuous casting of high-titanium steel was further developed. The results indicate that borax significantly reduces the melting temperature and viscosity and markedly suppresses the growth of crystalline phases such as calcium borosilicate, nepheline, and perovskite by weakening the polymerization degree of the silicate network, thereby substantially decreasing the crystallization ability of the mold flux. Soda ash primarily acts as a strong fluxing and network-depolymerizing agent, promoting the formation of low-polymerized structural units. It also enhances the tendency toward ordered atomic arrangement, thereby markedly increasing nepheline precipitation and the overall crystallization ratio. Witherite exerts a relatively mild effect on slag structure and phase evolution; its moderate addition helps synergistically reduce the melting point, viscosity, and crystallization ratio, thereby supporting performance stability. The optimized fluorine-free mold flux, designed on the basis of these findings, maintains a suitable initial crystallization temperature and critical crystallization cooling rate while exhibiting lower melting temperature, viscosity, and crystallization ratio than conventional fluorine-bearing flux. The findings establish a theoretical basis for designing eco-friendly mold fluxes suitable for high-titanium steel and for enhancing billet quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 194907674 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Effects of Mineral Raw Materials on Melting–Crystallization Properties and Microstructure of Fluorine-Free Mold Flux for High-Titanium Steel Continuous Casting. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Di%22">Zhang, Di</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Han%2C+Xiuli%22">Han, Xiuli</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> hanxl@ncst.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Lei%22">Liu, Lei</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Ziyao%22">Liu, Ziyao</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yang%2C+Yue%22">Yang, Yue</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Lei%22">Wu, Lei</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Ziyi%22">Zhang, Ziyi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Materials+%281996-1944%29%22">Materials (1996-1944)</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 19 Issue 12, p2600. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Continuous+casting%22">Continuous casting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Minerals%22">Minerals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Melting%22">Melting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crystallization%22">Crystallization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microstructure%22">Microstructure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Titanium%22">Titanium</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Blast+furnaces%22">Blast furnaces</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: During the continuous casting of high-titanium steel, traditional fluorine-containing mold fluxes are prone to causing fluoride contamination, equipment corrosion, and intensified slag–metal interface reactions. There is an urgent need to develop highly adaptable fluorine-free mold flux systems. In this study, titanium-containing blast furnace slag was used as the primary base material, while borax, soda ash, and witherite were selected as fluoride-substituting mineral raw materials. The effects of these mineral raw materials on the melting properties, crystallization behavior, crystalline phases, and microstructure of fluorine-free mold fluxes were systematically investigated, and an optimized mold flux design suitable for continuous casting of high-titanium steel was further developed. The results indicate that borax significantly reduces the melting temperature and viscosity and markedly suppresses the growth of crystalline phases such as calcium borosilicate, nepheline, and perovskite by weakening the polymerization degree of the silicate network, thereby substantially decreasing the crystallization ability of the mold flux. Soda ash primarily acts as a strong fluxing and network-depolymerizing agent, promoting the formation of low-polymerized structural units. It also enhances the tendency toward ordered atomic arrangement, thereby markedly increasing nepheline precipitation and the overall crystallization ratio. Witherite exerts a relatively mild effect on slag structure and phase evolution; its moderate addition helps synergistically reduce the melting point, viscosity, and crystallization ratio, thereby supporting performance stability. The optimized fluorine-free mold flux, designed on the basis of these findings, maintains a suitable initial crystallization temperature and critical crystallization cooling rate while exhibiting lower melting temperature, viscosity, and crystallization ratio than conventional fluorine-bearing flux. The findings establish a theoretical basis for designing eco-friendly mold fluxes suitable for high-titanium steel and for enhancing billet quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3390/ma19122600 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 2600 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Continuous casting Type: general – SubjectFull: Minerals Type: general – SubjectFull: Melting Type: general – SubjectFull: Crystallization Type: general – SubjectFull: Microstructure Type: general – SubjectFull: Titanium Type: general – SubjectFull: Blast furnaces Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Effects of Mineral Raw Materials on Melting–Crystallization Properties and Microstructure of Fluorine-Free Mold Flux for High-Titanium Steel Continuous Casting. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zhang, Di – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Han, Xiuli – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Liu, Lei – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Liu, Ziyao – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Yang, Yue – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wu, Lei – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zhang, Ziyi IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 15 M: 06 Text: Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19961944 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 19 – Type: issue Value: 12 Titles: – TitleFull: Materials (1996-1944) Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
