Steel Cleanliness Analysis by SEM/EDS

Abstract

Steel is often doped or contains oxides or sulphides to give it properties required by the manufacturer. Hence the steel needs to be assessed and graded according to these properties. To grade these properties efficiently, many steel cleanliness standards have been developed over time, some have been around for decades, others less than a year. The standards seek to classify inclusions in steel and sum the total length per unit area. This gives the steel a cleanliness factor or grade.