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Metals
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Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels
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Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 18030

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Qifeng Shu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Process Metallurgy Research Unit, University of Oulu, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
Interests: steelmaking; continuous casting; non-metallic inclusions; physical chemistry in metallurgy
Prof. Dr. Chengbin Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: inclusions and clean steel processing; heat-resistant steel; electroslag remelting; precipitates and microstructure of tool steel

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The precipitation of non-metallic inclusions during solidification of steel has strong effects on cleanliness and also the mechanic properties of steels. The control of inclusion size and composition will lead to “clean steel” with superior properties. Meanwhile, originating in welding science and technology, microstructure control by inclusions, i.e., “oxide metallurgy”, was proposed 30 years ago and now have found some new applications in advance processing techniques, e.g., additive manufacturing.

The current special issue is focused on the recent progress of inclusion engineering on control of steel cleanliness and microstructure by modelling and experimental work. The studies carried out in laboratories and steel plants on behaviors of inclusions during refining and solidification are of interest. The modeling contributions on inclusion formation during refining and solidification are also welcomed. The roles of inclusion sizes and compositions in steel microstructure are of particular interests. The studies on inclusion behavior during special steel processing, e.g., Electroslag remelting and new processing, e.g., additive manufacturing are especially welcomed.

Topics addressed in this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to:

  • Inclusions formation during steel refining
  • Inclusion precipitation in casting of steel
  • Inclusion behavior during electroslag remelting
  • Inclusion behavior during additive manufacturing
  • Inclusion engineering referring to steel microstructure
  • Inclusion characterization

Prof. Dr. Qifeng Shu
Prof. Dr. Chengbin Shi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Steels
  • Non-metallic inclusions
  • Solidification
  • Precipitation
  • Modelling
  • Characterization
  • Microstructure
  • Steel refining
  • Continuous casting
  • Electroslag remelting
  • Welding
  • Additive manufacturing

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 10088 KiB  
Article
Effect of FeSi Alloy Additions and Calcium Treatment on Non-Metallic Inclusions in 304 Stainless Steel during AOD and LF Refining Process
by Jun Zhai, Chengbin Shi, Weiyun Lang, Yu Zhao and Shijun Wang
Metals 2022, 12(8), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081338 - 11 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1758
Abstract
Non-deformable inclusions are detrimental to the surface quality and mechanical properties of stainless-steel plates. Plant trials were conducted to investigate the effect of different ferrosilicon alloys and calcium treatment during argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) and ladle furnace (LF) refining on inclusions in Si-killed [...] Read more.
Non-deformable inclusions are detrimental to the surface quality and mechanical properties of stainless-steel plates. Plant trials were conducted to investigate the effect of different ferrosilicon alloys and calcium treatment during argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) and ladle furnace (LF) refining on inclusions in Si-killed 304 stainless steel. The inclusions were examined by scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometer. The results show that both the contents of soluble aluminum in molten steel and Al2O3 in slag increase with the increase of aluminum content in FeSi alloy. The content of soluble aluminum in liquid steel could be limited to lower than 0.004% when using ultra-purity FeSi alloy. When the calcium wire addition is 2 m/t, inclusions are located in the low-melting-temperature region, and the inclusion rating of hot rolled plates is mainly C-class. Industrial application shows that, by decreasing the soluble aluminum content in liquid steel, decreasing the MgO and Al2O3 in slag in AOD, and applying low basicity refining slag as well as calcium treatment, the inclusions are low melting point silicates. The inclusion rating of hot rolled plates is mainly fine C-type with a small amount of class-A, and surface polishing qualification rate is increased from 17.8% to more than 88.7%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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13 pages, 3210 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Modeling Study of Deformability of Glassy CaO-(MnO)-Al2O3-SiO2 Inclusions
by Qifeng Shu, Chaoge You, Tuomas Alatarvas and Timo Matti Juhani Fabritius
Metals 2022, 12(3), 522; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12030522 - 20 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2171
Abstract
The occurrence of non-deformable, non-metallic inclusions is the dominant reason for failure of wire during drawing and degrades service life for some steel grades, e.g., tire cord steel. To investigate the deformability of glassy inclusions in CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 and [...] Read more.
The occurrence of non-deformable, non-metallic inclusions is the dominant reason for failure of wire during drawing and degrades service life for some steel grades, e.g., tire cord steel. To investigate the deformability of glassy inclusions in CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 and MnO-Al2O3-SiO2 systems, experimental and numerical methods were used. Young’s modulus values of some glasses based on the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 and MnO-Al2O3-SiO2 systems, which correspond to typical inclusions in tire cord steel, were measured with resonant ultrasound spectroscopy. The effect of basicity, defined as the ratio of mass percentage of CaO to SiO2, on Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio were investigated. The Young’s moduli of glasses are enhanced with increasing basicity, which could be attributed to the high field strength of calcium ions. The Poisson’s ratios of glasses also show an increase tendency with increasing basicity, which could be due to the loss of rigidity of network with introduction of calcium ions. The equations in the literature for Young’s modulus calculation were evaluated based on the present and literature data. Appen’s equation is modified by re-fitting the present and literature data to give accurate estimation of Young’s modulus with the mean deviation of 2%. The iso-Young’s modulus diagrams for CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 systems were constructed. It is proposed that the iso-Young’s modulus diagram could be combined with liquid area in CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 ternary phase diagram to optimize the inclusion composition during both hot rolling and cold drawing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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12 pages, 3640 KiB  
Article
Evolution of Inclusions in Incoloy825 during Electroslag Remelting
by Jiantao Ju, Zhihong Zhu, Yue Gu, Kangshuai Yang and Qiming Zhang
Metals 2022, 12(2), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020208 - 22 Jan 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2032
Abstract
Fifty kilogram-scale electroslag remelting (ESR) experiments using slag with different TiO2 contents in an electroslag furnace were performed to investigate the size, amount and types of inclusions in an electrode and remelted ingots. The results show that the contents of aluminum and [...] Read more.
Fifty kilogram-scale electroslag remelting (ESR) experiments using slag with different TiO2 contents in an electroslag furnace were performed to investigate the size, amount and types of inclusions in an electrode and remelted ingots. The results show that the contents of aluminum and titanium increased and decreased, respectively, compared to those in a consumable electrode. The inclusions in the consumable electrode were TiS, TiN and Al2O3 surrounded by a TiN layer, and the inclusions in the remelted ingots were TiN, MgO-Al2O3 and MgO-Al2O3 surrounded by a TiN layer. With the increase in the height of the ingots, the average size of inclusions increased from 2.5 to 4.4 μm. Increasing the TiO2 content in the slag promoted the formation of MgO-Al2O3 and made the inclusions larger in the remelted ingots. To make the size of inclusions in remelted ingots of Incoloy825 smaller, the TiO2 in the slag should be decreased. The TiS in the electrode was removed during ESR. Part of the TiN dissociated during the reaction between the liquid metal and slag by molten slag, and most of the TiN inclusions originated from the consumable electrode. The Al2O3 inclusions surrounded by a TiN layer in the consumable electrode were finally transformed to MgO-Al2O3 and MgO-Al2O3 surrounded by a TiN layer in the remelted ingots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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18 pages, 7312 KiB  
Article
Study on MnS Inclusion Aggregation along Continuous Casting Slab Thickness of Medium Carbon Structural Steel
by Qiuyang Yu, Xiaogang Yang, Chaobin Lai and Zhifang Tong
Metals 2022, 12(1), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12010056 - 27 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2842
Abstract
Precipitation of MnS inclusions in steel affects the mechanical properties of the material significantly. The evolution of MnS inclusions along the continuous casting slab thickness and its influencing factors has not been clearly established and comprehensively studied. In this paper, solidification macrostructure, sulfur [...] Read more.
Precipitation of MnS inclusions in steel affects the mechanical properties of the material significantly. The evolution of MnS inclusions along the continuous casting slab thickness and its influencing factors has not been clearly established and comprehensively studied. In this paper, solidification macrostructure, sulfur segregation and MnS inclusions in the continuous casting slab of medium carbon structural steel 45# were studied by various methods, including the metallographic observations, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) observation, automatic particle analysis, and thermodynamic calculations. The 2D/3D morphologies of MnS inclusions suggest that the sulfides turn from globular to rodlike, and further to dendritic shape along the slab thickness progressively. Furthermore, it was found that MnS inclusions are remarkably aggregated in the columnar crystals and the equiaxed crystals mixed zone, where the sulfides have the largest average diameter of 6.35 μm and the second maximum area fraction of 0.025% along the slab thickness. In order to reveal the mechanism of this phenomenon, the precipitation temperature of MnS inclusion in the 45# steel was clarified by thermodynamic calculation and experimental observation, and the quantitative relationships among the distribution of sulfur content, secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS), and precipitation area fraction of MnS inclusions were discussed. Moreover, the inclusion size was numerically predicted to compare with the measured value. The results indicate that the large SDAS, high sulfur content and low cooling rate accounting for the large-size aggregated MnS inclusions in the mixed zone. Unfortunately, the dendritic MnS inclusions, even if the average diameter exceeds 52 μm, can act as the nucleation sites for ferrites, and the distribution of the sulfides promotes uneven microstructure in the steel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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14 pages, 2381 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Synthetic Non-Metallic Inclusions Consisting of TiN, Ti2O3, and Oxides of Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 Spinel Using Raman Spectroscopy
by Francis Gyakwaa, Tuomas Alatarvas, Qifeng Shu, Matti Aula and Timo Fabritius
Metals 2021, 11(10), 1549; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11101549 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6040
Abstract
Steel quality and properties can be affected by the formation of complex inclusions, including Ti-based inclusions such as TiN and Ti2O3 and oxides like Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 (MA). This study assessed the prospective use [...] Read more.
Steel quality and properties can be affected by the formation of complex inclusions, including Ti-based inclusions such as TiN and Ti2O3 and oxides like Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 (MA). This study assessed the prospective use of Raman spectroscopy to characterize synthetic binary inclusion samples of TiN–Al2O3, TiN–MA, Ti2O3–MA, and Ti2O3–Al2O3 with varying phase fractions. The relative intensities of the Raman peaks were used for qualitative evaluation and linear regression calibration models were used for the quantitative prediction of individual phases. The model performance was evaluated with root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). For the raw Raman spectra data, R2 values were between 0.48–0.98, the RMSECV values varied between 3.26–14.60 wt%, and the RMSEP ranged between 2.98–15.01 wt% for estimating the phases. The SNV Raman spectra data had estimated R2 values within 0.94–0.99 and RMSECV and RMSEP values ranged between 2.50–3.26 wt% and 2.80–9.01 wt%, respectively, showing improved model performance. The study shows that the specific phases of TiN, Al2O3, MA, and Ti2O3 in synthetic inclusion mixtures of TiN–(Al2O3 or MA) and Ti2O3–(Al2O3 or MA) could be characterized by the Raman spectroscopy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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10 pages, 1772 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Examination of the Inclusion and the Rotated Bending Fatigue Behavior of SAE52100
by Xueliang An, Zhiyue Shi, Haifeng Xu, Cunyu Wang, Yuhui Wang, Wenquan Cao and Jinku Yu
Metals 2021, 11(10), 1502; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11101502 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1564
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of maximum inclusion on the life of SAE52100 bearing steel processed by two different melting routes, vacuum induction melting plus electroslag remelting (VIM + ESR), and basic oxygen furnace plus ladle furnace plus vacuum degassing process (BOF + [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effect of maximum inclusion on the life of SAE52100 bearing steel processed by two different melting routes, vacuum induction melting plus electroslag remelting (VIM + ESR), and basic oxygen furnace plus ladle furnace plus vacuum degassing process (BOF + LF + RH) by the metallographic method, Aspex explorer, and rotated bending fatigue test. The rotated bending method was applied to examine the maximum inclusion size in a satisfactory manner, whereas both the metallographic method and Aspex explorer underestimated the result. Regardless of the characterization methods, the results show that the total number of inclusions in VIM + ESR melted steel is significantly higher than that in BOF + LF + RH processed steel, but the maximum inclusion size of VIM + ESR melted steel is significantly smaller than that of the BOF + LF + RH degassed steel. The distribution of the maximum inclusion size could be well fitted by the inverse Weibull distribution and could be well applied to reveal the different inclusion size distribution based on the data examined by the rotated bending fatigue method. Finally, a new equation was proposed to establish the relationship among the loading stress amplitude, rotated bending fatigue number, and the maximum inclusion size. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inclusion Precipitation during Solidification of Steels)
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