The burning loss of Al and Ti elements in superalloys during electroslag remelting has become a prevalent issue. And the existing slag system is not suitable for smelting the ATI 718PlusTM alloy. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a new slag system for smelting the ATI 718PlusTM alloy. To mitigate this issue, a thermodynamic model of the oxidation reaction of Al and Ti at the slag and alloy interface was established based on the ion and molecule coexistence theory (IMCT). The thermodynamic model was used to investigate the correlation between the equilibrium content of Al and Ti, slag composition, smelting temperature, and initial Al and Ti content of the electrode. The results indicate that while increasing the smelting temperature can effectively inhibit the burning loss of Al, it will exacerbate the burning loss of Ti. Increasing CaO and Al2O3 contents can inhibit the Al burning loss, while an increase in the TiO2 content can inhibit the Ti burning loss. Although an increase in the MgO content results in the burning loss of Al, its impact on the Al is minimal. The burning loss of Al and Ti was not affected by the change in the CaF2 content. The high Al content in ATI 718PlusTM makes it prone to burning loss of Al during the electroslag remelting. The combustion loss of Al can be reduced by increasing the Ti content in the electrode or adding a suitable amount of aluminum powder to the slag system. The accuracy of the model had been validated through experimental verification.
This study systematically investigated the effects of Co/Ni ratios (0.6–2.0) on the solidification behavior, as-cast microstructure, and element segregation of Co-Al-W-based superalloys, and elucidated the mechanism of thermodynamic and kinetic synergistic regulation. The results show that increasing the Co/Ni ratio has a negligible effect on the liquidus and solidus temperatures, but it significantly lowers the dissolution temperature of the γ′ phase, thereby expanding the alloy’s heat treatment window (HTW) from 215 °C to 269 °C. As the Co/Ni ratio increased from 0.6 to 2, the SDAS at the center of the alloy ingot decreased from 112.4 μm to 43.3 μm, resulting in a significant refinement of the as-cast microstructure. The dendritic segregation coefficients for positively segregating elements such as Ta, Hf, and Al, as well as negatively segregating elements such as W, all approached 1 significantly, effectively suppressing microsegregation during solidification. This study reveals the multidimensional synergistic regulation mechanism of the Co/Ni ratio on the non-equilibrium solidification behavior of highly alloyed Co-Al-W-based superalloys and quantitatively elucidates the relationship between the Co/Ni ratio, the microstructural uniformity of as-cast specimens, and the heat treatment process window. For the first time in a highly alloyed multi-component Co-Al-W system, a correlation has been established between the Co/Ni ratio, element segregation, dendrite coarsening coefficient, and heat treatment window.