Macrosegregations and mesosegregations
Solidification — Macrostructures and product quality

In continuous casting products, as in conventional ingots and castings, chemical segregation phenomena develop on three scales:

• At the dendrite level with microsegregation or minor segregation;

• product scale (length and/or cross-section) with major macro- or segregations;

• the intermediate scale, with mesosegregations.

The seriousness of the consequences of macro- and meso-segregation phenomena varies according to whether we're dealing with molded parts (finished products) or semi-finished products. In a molded part, the fact that different parts do not have strictly the same chemical composition is generally a less serious drawback than the presence of internal defects which compromise the overall mechanical characteristics of the part to...