Effect of Refractory on Nonmetallic Inclusions in Al-Killed Steel

To understand the effect of refractory on the evolution of inclusions in the secondary steelmaking, steel samples were taken at different stages of the process train. Laboratory experiments were carried out using different refractories (alumina, spinel, and MgO). In the laboratory study, the types of inclusions considered were alumina, spinel, and calcium aluminate. The focus was given to Al-killed steel. The results showed that alumina refractory and spinel refractory had little effect on all the three types of inclusions, while the effect of MgO refractory depended on the activity of dissolved oxygen in liquid steel. With lower oxygen activity, alumina inclusions could transform into spinel inclusions. No evident change could be found for spinel and calcium aluminate inclusions. When the oxygen activity was high enough, spinel inclusions could not be generated from alumina inclusions. The laboratory results helped in understanding the evolution of the inclusions in the industrial process.