Electroslag remelting process

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Electroslag remelting plant with vertically movable mold in the Vienna Technical Museum

Electroslag remelting process (abbreviation ESU) is a metallurgical process for the production of steels with high purity, directionally solidified and therefore fault-free structures or special alloys such as titanium.

In this process, a solid steel block is immersed in the slag bath of a mold , which also functions as an electrical resistor. The block acts as a current-carrying electrode and melts. As it passes through the slag, sulfur and non-metallic inclusions are absorbed by the slag and later deposited. The steel solidifies under the slag in a copper mold.

Steels produced in this way have improved technological properties:

  • high sulfidic and oxidic degree of purity
  • Uniform solidification structure through the entire block length and the entire block cross-section
  • particularly high tensile strength
  • very good toughness even in the core of large workpieces

Individual evidence

  1. ESU - electroslag remelting plant. Retrieved December 4, 2019 .