Correlation between current and cross-sectional area of parallel fixed-movable dual electrodes in ESC

Electroslag casting with parallel fixed-movable dual electrodes is a new method for achieving better quality of castings in complex mold cavities. In this work, a mathematical model, y=kx2+(k+1)x, was established to describe the ideal correlation between the current ratio (y) and the cross-sectional area ratio (x) of the dual electrodes, where k is the filling ratio. Investigation was conducted on the electroslag casting process with dual electrodes of various cross-sectional areas, but at a constant k value. The experimental results indicated that the ideal correlation was obtained at the stable casting stage, and the fitting results were consistent with the experimental results at certain k values. The experimental findings show that better castings can be obtained when the current ratio is greater than 1.536 and the cross-sectional area ratio is greater than 0.5.