Thermodynamics and Agglomeration Behavior on Spinel Inclusion in Al-Deoxidized Steel Coupling with Mg Treatment

There are many types of non-metallic MgAl2O4 inclusions observed in Al-deoxidized steel coupling with Mg treatment, including single-particle MgAl2O4, agglomerated MgAl2O4, and MgAl2O4-MnS. Thermodynamic calculation shows that MgAl2O4 precipitates in the liquid phase. The phase transformation follows liquid + Al2O3 + MgAl2O4 → liquid + MgAl2O4 → liquid + MgO + MgAl2O4 → liquid + MgO with the Mg content increasing when the Al content is a constant in molten steel, and it is in agreement with the experimental results for the formation of MgAl2O4 in molten steel. The calculation results of various attractive forces between two particles show that the cavity bridge force plays a dominant role in the agglomeration process and results in the agglomerated MgAl2O4. The lattice mismatch calculation result shows that MgAl2O4 can provide effective sites for MnS nucleating in steel.

Thermodynamic Analysis on Precipitation of Nonmetallic Inclusions in Gear Steel

In order to make nonmetallic inclusions with low melting point and improve the fatigue resistance of gear steel, thermodynamic analysis on precipitation of nonmetallic inclusions CaO(MgO)-Al2O3 system was investigated in this paper. The complex deoxidation equilibria of strong deoxidizing elements such as aluminum, calcium, magnesium and so on were calculated accurately with the second order and middle term of the activity coefficient expression. Thermodynamic conditions for the precipitation of spinel inclusion (MgO•Al2O3) is sufficient as the acid-soluble aluminum content is 0.04% and magnesium content is less than 0.0005% in the tested gear steel 20CrMoH. The relationship between precipitation of spinel and calcium aluminate inclusions in gear steel and the composition of molten steel at 1873K indicates that, the compositions of inclusions before and after calcium treatment are C12A7 and C3A respectively, while the reactions in ladle reach the equilibrium state.

A cobalt-rich spinel inclusion in a sapphire from Bo Ploi, Thailand

Cobalt-rich spinel is found as a ∼200 µm inclusion, together with a glassy phase, in a gem-quality blue sapphire from Bo Ploi, Thailand. This is the first reported natural occurrence of such a spinel. Its composition is directly analogous with that of cochromite, a previously reported rare cobalt-rich chromite. The compositional ranges for the cobalt-rich spinel, obtained using electron microprobe and proton microprobe (methods described below), are Al2O348.18–61.27 %, CoO 19.7–22.84 %, Cr2O30–12.28 %, FeO 8.64–9.67 %, MgO 6.04–6.89, TiO20.49–0.73 %, Ni 2251–2532 p.p.m., Zn 335–371 p.p.m., Mn < 177–849 p.p.m., Ga 113–153 p.p.m., Nb 24–1252 p.p.m., Zr <4–167 p.p.m., Sn 22–428 p.p.m., As <4–56 p.p.m., Sr <4–59 p.p.m., Ag 13–64 p.p.m. Transition elements decrease in abundance from core to rim of the spinel while the other elements increase. Crystal chemical considerations suggest that a vacancy-creating substitution mechanism may be operative in the cobalt-rich spinel despite the small scale, i.e. 3Co2+= 2Al3++[4]□. The glassy phase coexisting with the spinel is likely to be the product of heating by the host basaltic magma. The mode of occurrence of the cobalt-rich spinel prevents further physical investigation. This unusual spinel is considered to be the result of a complex magma mixing process in the lower crust.