Effect of Fluoride Containning Slag on Oxide Inclusions in Electroslag Ingot

Abstract

Besides controlling homogeneous composition and compact solidification structure, removal of non-metallic inclusions is an important characteristic for electroslag remelting process. Many factors influence the non-metallic inclusions in steel including gas and inclusions original content in consumable electrode, atmosphere, slag amount and its composition, power input, melting rate, filling ratio and so on. Fluoride containing slag, which influences the non-metallic inclusions to a great extent, has been widely used for electroslag remelting process. The present paper focuses on the effect of fluoride containing slag on the inclusions in electroslag ingot based on the interaction of slag-metal interface. In this work, steel grade MC5 and several slags have been employed for investigating the effect of slag on inclusions. These experiments had been carried out in an electrical resistance furnace under argon atmosphere in order to eliminate the effect of ambient oxygen. Some specimens had been taken at different times for analyzing the content, dimensions, and type of non-metallic inclusions. Quantitative metallographic analysis method has been adopted for observing and examining the inclusions. SEM-EDS analysis has been used to investigate the composition of non-metallic inclusions of specimens at different time for investigating the modification behavior of inclusions. All the results obtained will be comparison to the original state inclusions in steel, which will be in favor of choose of slag for electroslag remelting process.