The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, №09

2026 №09 (02)

DOI of Article 10.37434/tpwj2026.09.03

2026 №09 (04)

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The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, #9, 35-42 pages

Distribution of electron beam heating power in the mould during electron beam cold hearth melting of slab ingots

V.O. Berezos, S.V. Akhonin, O.G. Yerokhin, Ye.I. Lipchanchuk, Yu.T. Ishchuk

E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NASU. 11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine. E-mail: titan.paton@gmail.com

Abstract
The production of rectangular titanium slabs by electron beam cold hearth melting (EBCHM) is a highly efficient alternative to conventional vacuum arc remelting (VAR). This technology completely eliminates the capital-intensive hot forging stage and increases the metal yield from 0.65 to 0.90. However, the rectangular geometry of the mould creates a two-dimensional heat transfer zone toward the water-cooled copper walls. Simulation has shown that the local heat flux in the corner regions is 1.4 to 1.7 times higher than that along the flat sections of the mold perimeter. Thermal undercooling of the melt meniscus may result in casting defects, including skull shell folding, deep surface corrugations, and diagonal lack-of-fusion defects. To compensate for these edge effects, a comprehensive study was carried out to substantiate and optimize the parameters of the spatial and temporal scanning pattern of the peripheral electron beam during the melting of Ti–6Al–4V alloy slabs. It is shown that introducing a technological dwell time of 0.5 s at the corner positions of the beam trajectory provides the optimum compromise. At an electron beam power of 54 kW, the specific peak density reaches 5.48 kW/cm2. This mode provides the average power density in the corner regions at the level of 0.82 kW/cm2. Experimental validation confirmed the formation of slab corners with a regular geometry, completely free from casting defects, including skull shell folding, lack of fusion, and surface corrugations.
Keywords: electron beam cold hearth melting, cold hearth, slab, titanium alloy, power, process parameters

Received: 02.07.2026
Received in revised form: 09.07.2026
Accepted: 30.09.2026

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Suggested Citation

V.O. Berezos, S.V. Akhonin, O.G. Yerokhin, Ye.I. Lipchanchuk, Yu.T. Ishchuk (2026) Distribution of electron beam heating power in the mould during electron beam cold hearth melting of slab ingots. The Paton Welding J., 09, 35-42. https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2026.09.03

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