Abstract
The aluminum oxide inclusions in SWRS82B steel seriously affect the drawing performance of the steel strand. In this study, the influence of different additions of cerium (within the range of 0–0.034%) on the composition, morphology, size, number, and distribution of alumina inclusions was studied by scanning electron microscope and energy spectrum analyzer. The evolution of the composition of inclusions with different cerium additions was calculated based on classical thermodynamics and Factsage software calculation. The thermodynamic calculated results were consistent with the experimental results. It indicates that the modification route of Al2O3 inclusions in SWRS82B steel by increased cerium additions is as follows: Al2O3 → Ce2S3 + CeAlO3 + Ce2O2S + Al2O3 → Ce2S3 + CeAlO3 + Ce2O2S/Ce2S3 + Ce2O2S → Ce2S3 + Ce2O2S. Besides, when the amount of cerium is in the range of 0.023% to 0.030%, CeAlO3 inclusions gradually disappear. The best characteristics of inclusions in this study were obtained in experimental samples with cerium addition of 0.023%, in which the minimum size of inclusions is in the range of 3.52–4.84 μm and mostly uniform distribution. Finally, the mechanism on the modification by cerium was discussed based on the composition evolution of inclusion during solidification with Factsage calculation and experimental results. The compositions of inclusions were also analyzed based on the inclusion evolution model.
Highlights
With the actual needs of automobile high-speed rail and construction steel, higher requirements are put forward for the strength and toughness of metal materials
SWRS82B is a high-strength steel that is widely used in wire ropes and steel strands and it is mainly used in the construction and transportation industries
scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) were used to observe the inclusions on the sample and the results are shown in Figures 1 and 2
Summary
With the actual needs of automobile high-speed rail and construction steel, higher requirements are put forward for the strength and toughness of metal materials. High drawing strength steel has become the focus of current research. SWRS82B is a high-strength steel that is widely used in wire ropes and steel strands and it is mainly used in the construction and transportation industries. It has developed rapidly in recent years [2]. A large amount of research shows that [3,4,5] it is important to pay attention to the size, morphology, and deformation of non-metallic inclusions for improving the performance and service life of SWRS82B high-strength steel wire rope and steel strand steel
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