Abstract: The effects of linear electromagnetic stirring (EMS) on the solidification steacture of billet were investigated by experiments, and the electromagnetic fields and flow fields during the stirring process were analyzed by numerical simulation. The results show that the billet of almost 100% equiaxed grains can be obtained by applying linear EMS at the maximum intensity of 1414A.Hz1/2, while the maximum electromagnetic force and the maximum velocity in the molten steel are 6386N-m-3 and 0.22m.s-1,respectively. It is presented that the pulsating electromagnetic force perpendicular to the movement of the molten steel, is an important factor of increasing the equiaxed zone ratio in the solidification structure, which further prevents the appearance of white band and internal defects.

Key words: linear EMS, equiaxed grain, solidification structure, white band, numerical simulation