Investigation of Primary Carbides in a Commercial-Sized Electroslag Remelting Ingot of H13 Steel

The characteristics of primary carbides in a commercial-sized (one ton) electroslag remelting (ESR) ingot of AISI H13 steel were investigated. The interaction between the primary carbides and inclusions was also clarified. The results indicate that there are two types of primary carbides, V-rich and Mo-rich primary carbides, in the H13 ESR ingot. The quantity, the area fraction, and the size of the two primary carbides tend to decrease from the center of the H13 ESR ingot to the outer surface. Additionally, the V-rich primary carbide is obviously larger than the Mo-rich primary carbide. The Al2O3 inclusion can promote the precipitation of the V-rich primary carbide, while the MnS inclusion encourages the precipitation of Mo-rich primary carbide. The CaO∙Al2O3 inclusion cannot act as the nucleation site for the precipitation of the two primary carbides. The solid fraction that the V-rich primary carbide begins to precipitate ranges from 0.965 to 0.983, and that for the Mo-rich primary carbide and the MnS inclusion change from 0.9990 to 0.9998 and from 0.989 to 0.990, respectively.

Development of Fracture Surface Etching (FSE) Method around Non-Metallic Inclusion of SUJ2 Steel

High-carbon high-strength JIS-SUJ2 bearing steel is one of the alloys used as rolling contact applications which need high wear resistance. This high hardness material is broken from non-metallic inclusions under fatigue stress. In this work, we developed a new observation method “fracture surface etching (FSE)” in order to observe the material microstructure on the fracture surface. We succeeded to draw clear grain boundaries on the fracture surfaces and closely observed the material microstructure around the crack origins by the FSE method. We concluded that the crack initiation area boundary is not formed by only the grain boundary, and the grain size around the Al2O3 inclusion on the fracture surface was similar to that of the flat surface which does not have inclusions before fatigue testing.

Title Synergistic Effect of Al2O3 Inclusion and Pearlite on the Localized Corrosion Evolution Process of Carbon Steel in Marine Environment

The initiation and evolution of the localized corrosion in carbon steel were investigated in a simulated marine environment of Xisha Island in the South China Sea. In the initial stage, localized corrosion occurred in the form of corrosion spot. The localized corrosion morphology and electrochemical information during corrosion process were tracked by field emission scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry (FE-SEM-EDS), scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) and scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM). Localized corrosion was induced by the microcrevices around Al2O3 inclusions. The occluded cells and oxygen concentration cell formed in the pits could accelerate the localized corrosion. Pearlite accelerated the dissolution of the inside and surrounding ferrite via the galvanic effect between Fe3C and ferrite. Overall, the localized corrosion was initiated and evaluated under a synergistic effect of crevice corrosion, occluded cells, oxygen concentration cell and the galvanic couple between FeC3 and ferrite.

Effect of Na2O and Rb2O on Inclusion Removal in C96V Saw Wire Steels Using Low-Basicity LF (Ladle Furnace) Refining Slags

Inclusion removal and modification of C96V saw wire steel using Na2O- and Rb2O- containing novel low-basicity LF (ladle furnace) Refining Slags have been researched. The results indicated that the addition of Na2O deteriorates inclusion removal; by contrast, the addition of Rb2O seems to significantly enhance inclusion removal. In detail, Rb2O can improve the cleanliness in the as-quenched C96V saw wire steel melts compared to preexisting synthetic LF refining slag compositions: (i) The average inclusion diameter experienced a remarkable decrease after reaction between the liquid steel and the synthetic LF refining slag; (ii) In addition, the number of inclusions also suffered from a dramatic decrease, with the reaction time increasing from 900 to 2700 s (15 to 45 min); (iii) Furthermore, both of the MnO-SiO2-Al2O3 and CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 inclusion system mainly concentrated in the low melting zone when the composition of Rb2O in synthetic refining slag was ≥5.0 wt%. This is mainly because Na2O significantly reduces the viscosity of refining slag, while Rb2O increases it. Then, there are two remarkable influences causing the increase of viscosity of refining slag with the addition of Rb2O: the inclusions can be sufficiently entrained within the slag once absorbed due to the significant increase in the viscosity; and the slag entrapment during refining process weakened dramatically.

Study of Micro-Inclusion of 20g Steel

According to the production process of 20g steel(120t BOF→ LF→ CC), some system analysis are introduced to research on the content of T[O] and [N] and the type, source, composition and quantity of micro inclusions in refining process, pouring process and casting billet. The results of the study show: the content of T[O] is 93.2ppm in the normal billet which is 37.8ppm more than that at steady state in the export of tundish. The content of T[O] is 140.5ppm in the compound casting billet which is 70.133ppm more than that at non-steady state in the export of tundish. The secondary oxidation of mould is serious at casting progress. In billet, the quality of CaS-SiO2-Al2O3 complex inclusion is the most, the quality of MnS inclusion is the second, and the quality of Al2O3 inclusion is the least. The sulphur content in micro-inclusion of billet is higher. The sulphur content in CaS-SiO2-Al2O3 complex inclusion is 3~15%, the sulphur content in MnS inclusion is 25%. The particle size of less than 10μm in micro-inclusions is the largest. The particle size of 0~5μm is about 60%, the particle size of 5~10μm is about 35%, the particle size of 10~15μm is about 5%. The average total volume rate of micro-inclusion is 0.149% in normal billet. The average total volume rate of micro-inclusion is 0.184% in compound casting billet which is 1.23 times than normal billet. The number of micro-inclusion is 36.5/ mm2 in normal billet. The number of micro-inclusion is 58.5/ mm2 in compound casting billet which is 60.27% higher than normal billet. The non-steady state casting has serious influence on billet cleanliness.

Study of Micro-Inclusion of Grade 45 Steel

According to the production process of grade 45 steel(120tBOF→slag refining→ CC), some system analysis are introduced to research on the type composition and quantity of micro-inclusions, and the effect of slag washing production process on the cleanliness of casting slab is evaluated. The results of the study show that: The content of T[O] is 48.75ppm in normal slab, The content of T[O] is 56.2ppm in head slab, The content of T[O] is 49.2ppm in compound casting slab.The main types of micro-inclusion in slab are MnS inclusion and Al2O3 inclusion. The quality of micro-inclusions is 14.32/mm2 in the normal slab, the quality of micro-inclusions is 17.68 /mm2 in the head slab, the quality of micro-inclusions is 27.94 /mm2 in the compound casting. In the normal slab, the average total volume ratio of micro-inclusions is 0.0458%. The particle size of micro-inclusions is smaller. The particle size of less than 10μm in micro-inclusions is the largest and is about 80%.