Control of nonmetallic inclusions of non-oriented silicon steel sheets by the rare earth treatment

Based on the industrial production of non-oriented silicon steel, the rare earth （RE） treatment during the Ruhrstahl Heraeus （RH） refining process was studied. The morphology and the size distribution were observed for the steel specimens treated with different RE treatment conditions. Furthermore, the formation and change of the nonmetallic inclusion characteristics of finished steel sheets after the RE treatment were discussed. The results have shown that in the present work,the suitable RE metal additions are 0.6 -0.9 kg/t steel. After the suitable RE treatment,the formation of AIN and MnS inclusions were restrained, and the aggregation, flotation and removal of nonmetallic inclusions were efficiently promoted and the cleanliness of liquid steel was significantly increased. Meanwhile, the total oxygen concentration reached the minimum value and thle desulfurization efficiency was optimal ,and the type of main inclusions was approximately spherical or elliptical spherical RE radicle inclusions whose size was relatively large.

Influence of rare earth Ce on hot deformation behavior of as-cast Mn18Cr18N high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The hot deformation behavior of Mn18Cr18N and Mn18Cr18N+Ce high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels at 1173-1473 K and 0.01-1 s^(-1) were investigated by thermal compression tests.The influence mechanism of Ce on the hot deformation behavior was analyzed by Ce-containing inclusions and segregation of Ce.The results show that after the addition of Ce,large,angular,hard,and brittle inclusions(TiN-Al_(2)O_(3),TiN,and Al_(2)O_(3)) can be modified to fine and dispersed Ce-containing inclusions(Ce-Al-O-S and TiN-Ce-Al-O-S).During the solidification,Ce-containing inclusions can be used as heterogeneous nucleation particles to refine as-cast grains.During the hot deformation,Ce-containing inclusions can pin dislocation movement and grain boundary migration,induce dynamic recrystallization(DRX)nucleation,and avoid the formation and propagation of micro cracks and gaps.In addition,during the solidification,Ce atoms enrich at the front of solid-li-quid interface,resulting in composition supercooling and refining the secondary dendrites.Similarly,during the hot deformation,Ce atoms tend to segregate at the boundaries of DRX grains,inhibiting the growth of grains.Under the synergistic effect of Ce-containing inclusions and Ce segregation,although the hot deformation resistance and hot deformation activation energy are improved,DRX is more likely to occur and the size of DRX grains is significantly refined,and the problem of hot deformation cracking can be alleviated.Finally,the microhardness of the samples was measured.The results show that compared with as-cast samples,the microhardness of hot-deformed samples increases signific-antly,and with the increase of DRX degree,the microhardness decreases continuously.In addition,Ce can affect the microhardness of Mn18Cr18N steel by affecting as-cast and hot deformation microstructures.

Effects of Rare Earth on Structure and Mechanical Properties of Clean BNbRE Steel

The mechanisms of RE in clean BNbRE steel were studied by means of experimental measurement, microstructural observation and theoretical analysis. For BNbRE steel, the state and the content of RE were measured, and the effects and the mechanisms of RE on sulfide inclusions, microstructure and properties of steel were determined. On the condition of increasing the cleanliness of steel, the mechanisms of RE in steel were changed to certain degree. Small amount of RE has the effect of cleaning, modifying inclusions and alloying in clean steel, too. With increasing the cleanliness of BNbRE steel, addition of RE should be decreased properly. Under experimental conditions, the optimum addition of RE is -0.01 % （mass fraction） for clean BNbRE steel, while RE can evidently improve plasticity and impact toughness of BNbRE steel.

Role of Rare Earth in Low Sulphur Nb-Ti-Bearing Steel

The effect of rare earth on the microstructures, mechanical properties and inclu sions in low sulphur Nb-Ti-bearing steel were investigated. It is shown that t h e transverse yield point, the traverse tensile strength and elongation of testin g steels decrease initially and then rise with increasing content of rare earth. The impact energy values of the testing steels exhibit a contrary trend. Proper amount of rare earth in the steels can improve the anisotropy of impact toughne ss above -20 ℃ and it does not affect the type of microstructures which ar e st ill composed of ferrites and pearlites, but the pearlite amount increases. On one hand, rare earth cleans the molten steel and reduces the amount of inclusions; on the other hand, rare earth makes the inclusions spheroidizd, refi ned and dispersed, and thus improves the distribution of inclusions.

Effects of rare earth modifying inclusions on the pitting corrosion of 13Cr4Ni martensitic stainless steel

In this study,the pitting corrosion behavior of 13Cr4Ni martensitic stainless steel(BASE)and that modified with rare earth(REM)in 0.1 mol/L Na Cl solution were characterized.Techniques such as automatic secondary electron microscope(ASPEX PSEM detector),scanning electron microscope(SEM),transmission electron microscope(TEM),scanning Kelvin probe force microscope(SKP),potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarizations were employed.The results obtained indicate that BASE steel contains Al_(2)O_(3)/Mn S,Al_(2)O_(3) and Mn S inclusions,while REM steels contain(La,Ce,Cr,Fe)-O and(La,Ce,Cr,Fe)-O-S inclusions.Compared with BASE steel,REM steel is more susceptible to induce the metastable pitting nucleation and repassivation,whereas it restrains the transition from metastable pitting to stable pitting.Adding 0.021%rare earth element to BASE steel can reduce the number and area of inclusions,while that of 0.058%can increase the number and enlarged the size of inclusions,which is also the reason that pitting corrosion resistance of 58 REM steel is slightly lower than that of 21 REM steel.In the process of pitting corrosion induced by Al_(2)O_(3)/Mn S inclusions,Mn S is preferentially anodic dissolved,and also the matrix contacted with Al_(2)O_(3) is subsequently anodic dissolved.For REM steels,anodic dissolution preferentially occurs at the boundary between inclusions and matrix,while(La,Ce,Cr,Fe)-O inclusions chemically dissolve in local acidic environment or are separated from steel matrix.The chemically dissolved substance(La^(3+) and Ce^(3+))of(La,Ce,Cr,Fe)-O inclusions are concentrated in pitting pits,which inhibits its continuous growth.

Effects of rare earth on inclusions and corrosion resistance of 10PCuRE weathering steel

The types, morphologies and distributions of nonmetallic inclusions in Cu-P weathering steels with and without rare earth were analyzed through a quantitative image analyzer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) attached to SEM. Solid-soluble content of rare earth in the steels was analyzed by non-aqua electroanalysis and ICP. The results showed that rare earth modified the types and the morphologies of inclusions in the weathering steels. The small spherical rare earth oxysulfides and rare earth sulphides replaced the elongated MnS inclusions in the RE weathering steels. The rare earth inclusions dispersedly distributed and most inclusions were smaller than 2 μm in size. The optimum content of RE was 0.0065%-0.016% for 10PCuRE weathering steels containing about 0.002% oxygen and 0.004% sulfur. Solid-soluble content of rare earth in steels was (14-20)×10-6, which can act as a micro-alloying element. The corrosion resistance of 10PCuRE weathering steels and Q235 were studied by dry-wet cyclic immersion test. Their corrosion rates were obtained respectively. The polarization curves and pitting corrosion behaviors of weathering steels with and without rare earth were measured by electrochemical methods. The corrosion resistance of Cu-P weathering steels was improved by adding an appropriate amount of rare earth. Less and fewer rare earth inclusions largely decreased pitting susceptibility and rate of pit propagation. The pitting potential and the resistance against pitting corrosion of the RE weathering steel were significantly improved due to the modification of rare earth to inclusions.

Temperature-dependent evolution of oxide inclusions during heat treatment of stainless steel with yttrium addition

The evolution of oxide inclusions during isothermal heating of 18Cr–8Ni stainless steel with yttrium addition at temperatures of 1273 to 1573 K was investigated systematically.Homogeneous spherical Al–Y–Si(–Mn–Cr)oxide inclusions were observed in as-cast steel.After heating,most of the homogeneous inclusions were transformed into heterogeneous inclusions with Y-rich and Al-rich parts,even though some homogeneous oxide particles were still observed at 1273 and 1573 K.With the increase in heating temperature,more large-sized inclusions were formed.The shape of the inclusions also changed from spherical to irregular.The maximum transformation temperature of inclusions was determined to be 1373 K.The evolution mechanism of inclusions during heating was proposed to be the combined effect of the(i)internal transformation of inclusions due to the crystallization of glassy oxide and(ii)interfacial reaction between inclusions and steel matrix.Meanwhile,the internal transformation of inclusions was considered to be the main factor at heating temperatures less than 1473 K.

Influence of Cerium on Solidification Microstructure of M2 High Speed Steel

The influence of Ce on the solidification microstructures of M2 high speed steel was studied. The results show that Ce has the effect of alleviating the segregation of alloying elements such as W and Mo in high speed steel. With the addition of Ce, the amount of eutectic carbides is decreased and the flakes of the carbides are refined. Ce mainly segregates onto the interface between the eutectic carbide and austenite, and a Dart of Ce enters M2C carbide. Ce can also enhance the breaking and spheroidizing of the network eutectic carbides during high temperature heat treatment.

Influence of rare earth elements on solidification behavior of a high speed steel for roll using differential scanning calorimetry

The influence of rare earths（RE） on solidification behavior of a high speed steel for roll was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） in combination of microstructure analysis.It was found that the sequence of solidification was L→γ,L→γ＋MC,L→γ＋M2C,L→γ＋M6C,respectively.The start temperature and the latent heat liberated by unit mass of L→γ and L→γ＋MC increased with increase of RE addition,indicating that RE could trigger the crystallization of the primary γ and the MC carbide more effectively.The promoting effect of RE on the heterogeneous nucleation was believed to be an important cause of this effect.Grain refinement,discontinuous network of eutectic carbides and disperse and finer MC were observed in the samples with RE addition,moreover,RES could act as the heterogeneous nucleus of the MC.RE addition was favorable for stable M6C at the expense of the metastable M2C.

Effects of Modified Inclusions and Precipitates Alloyed by Rare Earth Element on Corrosion and Impact Properties in Low Alloy Steel

This study has focused on the morphology and distribution of inclusions and precipitates modified by rare earth(RE)elements,which has a decisive influence on microstructure,corrosion properties and impact behaviors in Q355 low alloy steel.Characterized by the method of electrolytic extraction and ASPEX-scanning electron microscopy(ASPEX-SEM),small-sized spherical RE inclusions have been modified to replace elongated MnS and large-sized Al_(2)O_(3).Q355RE steel after RE alloying has lower corrosion rate and higher value ofα/γ,due to the formation of stable and dense rust layers.Q355RE steel also exhibits better resistance to fracture at low temperature,owing to the presence of RE modification to inclusions and its effects on reducing crack initiation and propagation.Nano-scale RE precipitates containing sulfur and phosphorus is observed along grain boundaries by transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The purification of grain boundaries by RE is beneficial to the improvement of corrosion and impact properties.

A Coupled Thermodynamic Model for Prediction of Inclusions Precipitation during Solidification of Heat-resistant Steel Containing Cerium

A coupled thermodynamic model of inclusions precipitation both in liquid and solid phase and microseg- regation of solute elements during solidification of heat-resistant steel containing cerium was established. Then the model was validated by the SEM analysis of the industrial products. The type and amount of inclusions in solidifica- tion structure of 253MA heat-resistant steel were predicted by the model, and the valuable results for the inclusions controlling in 253MA steel were obtained. When the cerium addition increases, the types of inclusions transform from SiO2 and MnS to Ce2 O3 and Ce2O2 S in 253MA steel and the precipitation temperature of SiO2 and MnS decrea- ses. The inclusions CeS and CeN convert to Ce2 O3 and Ce2 O2 S as the oxygen content increases and Ce2 O3 and CeN convert to Ce2 O2 S, Ce3 S4, and MnS as the sulfur content increases. The formation temperature of SiO2 increases when the oxygen content increases and the MnS precipitation temperature increases when the sulfur content increa ses. There is only a small quantity of inclusions containing cerium in 253MA steel with high cleanliness, i. e. , low oxygen and sulfur contents. By contrast, a mass of SiO2 , MnS and Ce2 O2 S are formed in steel when the oxygen and sulfur contents are high enough. The condition that MnS precipitates in 253MA steel is 1.2wEo[O] ＋W[s]〉0. 01% and SiO2 precipitates when 2w[O] ＋wrs[S]〉0. 017% （W[S]0. 005%） and w[O]〉0. 006% （w[S]〉0. 005%）.

Effects of rare earth elements on inclusions and impact toughness of high-carbon chromium bearing steel

High-carbon chromium bearing steels with different rare earth (RE) contents were prepared to investigate the effects of RE on inclusions and impact toughness by different techniques. The results showed that RE addition could modify irregular Al2O3 and MnS into regular RE inclusions. With the increase of RE content, the reaction sequence of RE and potential inclusion forming elements should be O, S, As, P and C successively. RE inclusions containing C might precipitate in molten steel and solid state, but the precipitation tem perature was significantly higher than that of carbides in high-carbon chromium bearing steel. For experim ental bearing steels, the volume fraction of inclusions increased steadily with the increase of RE content, but smaller and more dispersed inclusions could be obtained by 0.018% RE content compared with bearing steel without RE, whereas the continuous increase of RE content led to an increasing trend for inclusion size and a gradual deterioration for inclusion distribution. RE addition could improve the transverse impact toughness and isotropy of bearing steel, and for modified highcarbon chrom ium bearing steel by RE alloying, the increase of RE content continuously increased both transverse and longitudinal im pact toughness until excessive RE addition.

Solidification microstructure of high borated stainless steels with rare earth and titanium additions

To study the effects of rare earth(RE)and Ti on the solidification micros true ture of high borated stainless steels,1.6 wt%B stainless steel doped with RE and2.1 wt%B stainless steel doped with Ti were prepared by ingot casting,respectively.The solidification microstructure of researched steels was characterized in detail.The modification mechanism was clarified based on the heterogeneous nucleation theory and the thermodynamic calculation.The solidification microstructure of 1.6 wt%B and 2.1 wt%B stainless steels was characterized by the continuous and network-like eutectic borides around the matrix grains.It was found that the fine RE compounds could act as the heterogeneous nuclei for both borides and austenite during solidification.Thus,the eutectic borides were more dispersed in the modified steel.Moreover,lots of fine‘eutectic cells’were formed in the matrix regions.As a result of the preferential formation of TiB2 during solidification,the amount of the eutectic borides in the steel modified with Ti was significantly decreased.Besides,the continuity of the eutectic borides network was weakened.In a word,the present work provides a promising method to modify the solidification microstructure for high borated stainless steels.

Effect of Al content on modification behavior of non-metallic inclusions in high-strength steel treated with rare earth

The influence of Al content(0.0053,0.0171,and 0.0578 wt.%)on the modification behavior of non-metallic inclusions in 20CrMoVTiB steel treated with rare earth elements was studied through high-temperature experiments and thermodynamic simulation.The results showed that the modification products varied with the Al content in steel under 0.01 wt.%of Ce addition.The formation sequence of typical rare earth inclusions in steel with the increase in Al content was Ce_(2)O_(3)→CeAlO_(3)→CeAl_(11)O_(18),and the final stable products were highly Al content dependent.When the Al content was 0.0053 wt.%,the stable phase in steel was Ce2O3;while the[Al]reached 0.0171 wt.%,the stable phase became CeA1O_(3).As the A1 content reached 0.0578 wt.%,CeAl_(11)O_(18) became the stable phase.As a result,increasing the Al content could inhibit the precipitation of Ce_(2)O_(3) inclusions in steel while promote the formation of CeAIO3 and CeAl_(11)O_(18) inclusions.In addition,both Ca treatment and Ce treatment could effectively refine the size of inclusions in steel by changing their types.However,the feeding amount of Ca wire into molten steel should be appropriately reduced under the condition of adding Ce simultaneously,which is expected to be beneficial for an improved Ce treatment effect.

Effects of Rare Earth elements on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of 718H pre-hardened mold steel

718 H Pre-ha rdened mold steels with diffe rent Rare Earth(RE) contents were prepared to investigate the influence of RE on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties through a series of experiments and theoretical analysis.The results indicated that the toal oxygen(T.O) content decreased from 15 ppm to 6 ppm with 0.022 wt% RE addition,which is attributed to the active chemical properties of RE elements.For test steels,RE additions of 0.012 wt% and 0.022 wt% were significantly effective for refining inclusions by eliminating 11.5% large-sized inclusions with diameter exceeding 10 μm compared with that of ORE steel.RE addition contributed to modify irregular MnS and Al2 O3 inclusions into ellipsoidal RE-inclusions(RE2 O,RES,RE2 O2 S and REAlO3).The purification of molten steel and the modification of inclusions by RE treatment have significant effects on improvement of the fatigue crack growth tests(FCG) inhibition ability and impact energy as well as the isotropy.However,excessive addition of RE elements(0.07 wt%)seriously reduced the impact energy,ultimate tensile strength and FCG inhibition ability due to rapidly increase of the volume fraction of large-sized inclusions.In addition to the inclusions formed by RE treatment,trace solid solution RE atoms improve the stability of undercooled austenite,resulting in the transformation region of bainite and perlite of 0.07 RE steel shifting to the bottom right and prolonging the incubation period compared with that of ORE steel.

Morphology and Forming Mechanism of Rare Earth Inclusions During Solidification of Steel

RE inclusions formed during the solidification of molten steel was studied with TEM and SEM.The results show that with increasing of the ratio of sulphur to oxygen, the reaction products of RE with sulphur and oxygen will be successively RE2O3, composites of RE2O3 and RE2O2S, RE2S3, and a few particles of REO2.

EFFECTS OF La ON STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF HEAVY RAIL STEEL

The mechanisms of La in heavy rail steel were studied by means of experimental measurements, microstructure observation and theoretical analysis in the present work. For heavy rail steel, the state and the content of La were measured, and the mechanisms and the effects of La on sulfide inclusions, microstracture and properties of steel were determined. Strip-like sulfides disappear in heavy rail steel with La/（O＋S）〉3.50, which is shown that the metallurgical function of modifying sulfide inclusions has been achieved by La. La can fine the grain size of the austenite in heavy rail steel. Under the experimental condition, the plasticity and the impacting toughness of heavy rail steel with 0.005wt% La can evidently be improved.

Effect of Ce on Inclusions and Impact Property of 2Cr13 Stainless Steel

The effect of Ce on inclusions and impact toughness of 2Cr13 stainless steel were studied by SEM and electron spectroscopy. Thermodynamic calculation was used to analyze the formation of RE inclusions in 2Cr13 stainless steel. The result shows that Al2 O3 and MnS can be entirely replaced by Ce2 O2 S and CeS. Fracture is changed from cleavage to ductile fracture by adding Ce to the 2Cr13 stainless steel, and the spherical rare earth oxysulfide inclusions （Ce2 O2 S） in the dimple are the main factors. The transverse impact value of 2Cr13 stainless steel has been improved obviously by Ce. The transverse impact value of RE-2Cr13 is increased by 54.55% at the temperature of --40℃, comparing with 0RE-2Cr13.

Effect of Ce on the cleanliness, microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength low alloy steel Q690E in industrial production process

In order to improve the strength and toughness of Q690 E steel sheets,the effect of rare earth element Ce on the strength and toughness of Q690 E steel was studied by means of transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,and metallographic microscope.The results showed that the addition of Ce in steel limited the combination of S with Mn and Ca,transformed Al2O3 inclusion into spherical CeAlO3 inclusion,and modified the precipitate form of some composite inclusions of TiN and sulfide oxides into TiN precipitation alone.The inclusions were spheroidizing.The size of inclusions was decreased from 3–5μm to 1–2μm,and the distribution was dispersed.Ce played a role in purifying molten steel through desulphurization and deoxidization.Meanwhile,the addition of Ce in steel effectively increased the nucleation particles in the liquid phase,improved the nucleation rate,enlarged the equiaxed grain refinement area,and limited the development of columnar crystals.The average grain size of slab decreased from 45.76 to 35.25μm,and the proportion of large grain size(>50μm)decreased from 40.41%to 23.74%.The macrostructural examination of slab was improved from B0.5 to C2.0,which realized the refinement of the solidified structure and reduced the banded structure of hot rolled plate.In addition,due to the inheritance of refined structure in the upstream,the recrystallization of deformed austenite and the growth of grain after recrystallization were restrained,and a refined tempered sorbite structure was obtained.When rare earth element Ce was added,the width of the martensite lath bundle was narrowed from about 500 nm to about 200 nm,which realized a remarkable grain refinement strengthening and toughening effect.Mechanical properties such as tensile,yield,and low-temperature impact toughness were significantly improved.

Origin mechanism of pitting corrosion induced by cerium inclusions

In this paper,the origin mechanism of pitting corrosion induced by Ce_(2)O_(3),Ce_(2)O_(2)S,and CeAlO_(3) inclusions in a microalloyed steel was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron backscattered diffraction,conductivity atomic force microscopy,immersion test,and first-principles calculation.The results show that the Ce_(2)O_(3),Ce_(2)O_(2)S,and CeAlO_(3) inclusions are non-conductive,which are impossible to form corrosion couples with the steel matrix.There are no obvious lattice distortion zones in the steel matrix around the Ce_(2)O_(3),Ce_(2)O_(2)S,and CeAlO_(3) inclusions,so it is difficult to form micro-galvanic corrosion near the Ce inclusion.The order of work functions of the Ce inclusions and the steel matrix from small to large is Ce_(2)O_(2)S<Ce_(2)O_(3)<CeAlO_(3)<steel matrix,which is consistent with their dissolution sequence in the immersion test in _(3).5 wt%NaCl solution.Consequently,it is effective and reliable to use work function to predict or judge the dissolution behaviors of the Ce inclusions or steel matrix in corrosive solution.The Ce_(2)O_(3),Ce_(2)O_(2)S,and CeAlO_(3) inclusions have the tendency of self-dissolution and dissolve preferentially to the steel matrix in the solution by the salt effect,which lead to pitting corrosion of Ce-containing microalloyed steel.