Separation of non-metallic inclusions from high strength low alloy steel by electromagnetic stirring

Abstract

Non-metallic inclusions are the impurities that solidified during steel continuous casting. The compositions, sizes and shapes of inclusions significantly affect the steels' mechanical properties such as ductility, formability and toughness. This paper mainly focuses on the observation and characterization of non-metallic inclusions in high strength low alloy steels, and especially is devoted to the homogenization of molten steel within the copper mold of continuous casters, as the primary purpose of this project is to discover the optimum operation parameters for electro-magnetic stirrers surrounding the copper mold. In this paper, non-metallic inclusions in high strength low alloy steel were observed and characterized, and separation of non-metallic inclusions from high strength low alloy steel by electromagnetic stirring was specifically studied. The nonmetallic inclusions in the billet can be greatly reduced when the electromagnetic stirring parameters of the mold are 300 A current and 3 Hz EMS frequency.