Dendrite growth direction measurements: Understanding the solute advancement in continuous casting of steel

Maintaining competitiveness in steel manufacturing requires improving process efficiency and production volume whilst enhancing product quality and performance. This is particularly challenging for producing value-added advanced steel grades such as advanced high strength steels and electrical steels. These grades due to higher weight percentage of alloying elements cause difficulties in various stages of upstream and downstream processing, and this includes continuous casting, wherein high solute levels are critical towards macro-segregation. Interface growth direction in systems with more than one component is dictated by the solute profile ahead of the moving solidification front. Understanding the profile of growth direction with casting process parameters during the progress of casting will provide an important perspective towards reducing the macro-segregation in the cast product. In the present study, two steel slab samples from conventional slab caster under the influence of electromagnetic brake (EMBR) at Tata Steel in IJmuiden (The Netherlands) have been investigated for dendrite deflection measurements. The samples showed a transition zone where a change in the deflection behavior occurs. Also, the magnitude of the deflection angle decreases away from the slab surface. Correlating these experimental data with modeled fluid flow profile will help in improving the understanding of the dynamic nature of the solute advancement so that the casting parameters can be optimized to improve product quality.