Effect of alloy addition on inclusion evolution in stainless steels

The number, morphology, size, and composition of inclusions after deoxidation and alloying in Ti-stabalized stainless steel were investigated. This was carried out by electrolytic extraction of complete inclusions from steel matrix, followed by microscopic examination. It was found that after the addition of ferrosilicon and manganese, and later aluminum, the composition of inclusions changed from manganese silicate-rich inclusions to alumina-rich inclusions. After tapping and titanium wire feeding, three types of TiN inclusion morphologies were observed, single, twinned and clusters. Both the turbulence and Stoke’s collisions mechanisms play a considerable role in the formation of cluster TiN.The first author would like to thank China Scholarship Council (CSC) for support of her study abroad. Qingshan steel provided the stainless steel samples of this study. The financial support by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is greatly acknowledged