State of the art in the control of inclusions in spring steel for automobile - A review

Abstract

Spring steel wires are extensively utilized in automotive engines valve and suspension applications. Owing to spring often work under high-frequency dynamic loads and periodic alternation stress, nondeformable inclusions often act as fatigue fracture origin of spring steel. The control of inclusions in spring steel for automobile are extensively reviewed. On the one hand, the new perspective on the problems left over the past decades, include the new viewpoint on whether FeO is an inherent constituent of inclusions, the new understanding of the origin of CaO-based inclusions, the new perspective of whether the VD treatment progress should be removed but RH retain, have been discussed. On the other hand, the new approaches, via, calcium treatment, alkali oxide treatment, rare earth treatment, new refractory application, have also been summarized. Finally, the unsolved problems, the source of CaO-based inclusions, the mechanism of alkali metals modified inclusions, the based thermodynamic data for reactions between rare earth yttrium (Y) and non-metallic inclusions, the operability of CaO-containing refractory in industry, that should be explored further are also been discussed.