Original Article

Numerical analysis of the influence of electrode configurations on multiphysics fields in electroslag remelting process

¹ State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, PR China
² Research Institute of Technology of Shougang Group Co., Ltd Beijing, 100041, PR China

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Received: 29 August 2025
Accepted: 2 January 2026

Abstract

A numerical analysis of the influence of three types of electrode configurations on multiphysics fields in the electroslag remelting (ESR) process was conducted utilizing Fluent and Maxwell modules in ANSYS software. A transient thermal-electromagnetic field coupling model was established by integrating the finite element and finite volume methods. The model was validated through a rapid electrode-lifting experiment, demonstrating that welded billet electrodes reduced peak current density in the slag pool by 12% to 46% and improved Joule heat uniformity by 15% to 28% compared with single electrodes. Reynolds and Nusselt numbers of the slag within the billet gap regions were calculated as 1040 and 36.8, respectively, and it was demonstrated that the local slag flow transitioned from laminar to turbulent and convective heat transfer was enhanced. In the welded billet electrode ESR process, average slag pool temperature decreased by 10 °C to 20 °C, and the molten pool depth ranged from 0.22 m to 0.225 m, which was 37% shallower than the 0.35 m depth of the single electrode, forming a flatter profile. Optimization of industrial ESR processes by regulating electrode configurations and gap dimensions was presented.