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Investigation on the Origin of Al 2 O 3 ‐Rich Inclusions in Valve Spring Steel under Vacuum Condition
Author(s) -
Chen Liangjun,
Chen Weiqing,
Hu Yang,
Chen Zhaoping,
Xu Yingtie,
Yan Wei
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
steel research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.603
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1869-344X
pISSN - 1611-3683
DOI - 10.1002/srin.201600376
Subject(s) - materials science , metallurgy , spring steel , crucible (geodemography) , slag (welding) , refractory (planetary science) , levitation , spring (device) , liquid steel , thermodynamics , chemistry , mechanical engineering , engineering , computational chemistry , physics , magnet
Hard and non‐deformable Al 2 O 3 ‐rich (>70 mass%) inclusions are extremely detrimental for valve spring wire. In order to explore the origin of Al 2 O 3 ‐rich inclusions and provide solutions, an investigation on the effects of Al‐containing MgO–C refractory and refining slag on the generation of Al 2 O 3 ‐rich inclusions in valve spring steel deoxidized by Si and Mn under different vacuum conditions is carried out on a laboratorial scale by a cold crucible levitation melting (CCLM) furnace. The experimental results indicate that the refractory/steel interaction under vacuum conditions has a far more significant contribution to the increase of [Al] S (Acid‐soluble Al) content in steel compared with slag/steel interaction, which further leads to the generation of Al 2 O 3 ‐rich inclusions. Based on the experimental results and thermodynamic calculations, the mechanisms of refractory/steel interaction and slag/steel interaction under vacuum conditions are deduced to provide a reference for the control of Al 2 O 3 ‐rich inclusions in valve spring steel deoxidized by Si and Mn.