Abstract
Ferroalloys are integral constituents of the steelmaking process, since non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) from ferroalloys significantly influence the transformation of inclusions present in liquid steel or they are directly involved in casted steel. In this study, the characteristics of inclusions (such as the number, morphology, size, and composition) in different industrial ferroalloys (FeV, FeMo, FeB, and FeCr) were investigated using the electrolytic extraction (EE) technique. After extraction from the ferroalloy samples and filtration of the solution, the inclusions were investigated on a film filter. The three-dimensional (3D) investigations were conducted using a scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The characteristics of inclusions observed in the ferroalloys were compared with previous results and discussed with respect to their possible behaviors in the melt and their effects on the quality of the cast steels. The particle size distributions and floatation distances were plotted for the main inclusion types. The results showed that the most harmful inclusions in the ferroalloys investigated are the following: pure Al2O3 and high Al2O3-containing inclusions in FeV alloys; pure SiO2 and high SiO2-containing inclusions in FeMo alloys; Al2O3 and SiO2-containing inclusions in FeB alloys; and MnO-Cr2O3, Al2O3, and Cr2O3-based inclusions in FeCr alloys.
Highlights
Since the cleanliness of steel largely depends on the secondary refining process, one of its main aims is to control the non-metallic inclusion (NMI) contents in steel
By far the largest application of vanadium is as a potent microalloying strengthener in high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels (0.05 to 0.15% V)
Ferrovanadium is usually added to the ladle after deoxidation is completed and it should be added when the ladle is one-quarter to three-quarters full [21]
Summary
Since the cleanliness of steel largely depends on the secondary refining process, one of its main aims is to control the non-metallic inclusion (NMI) contents in steel. There can be an inadvertent entry of exogenous inclusions present in ferroalloys to the molten steel This is especially important when ferroalloys are added during the late stage of the ladle metallurgy process. Some researchers have studied the NMIs in different kinds of ferroalloys, such as FeSi [2,3,4,5], FeTi [2,5,6,7], FeCr [3,6,8], SiMn [2,4], and FeMn [5,9,10] These ferroalloys are well known as the principle ferroalloys considering their large consumption in the steelmaking process. Using the electrolytic extraction (EE) method, the current study concentrates on investigating the inclusion characteristics in four ferroalloys: (i) FeV, (ii) FeMo, (iii) FeB, and (iv) FeCr. In addition, the NMIs in three FeCr alloys from different companies are compared. The results assist better three-dimensional (3D) investigations of the NMIs present in these ferroalloys
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