Defects in steel products are defined as deviations in appearance, shape, dimension, macro-

structure / micro-structure, and/or chemical properties when compared with the specifications
given in the technical standards or any other normative documents in force. Defects are detected
either through visual inspection or with the help of instruments and equipments.

There are four main metallurgical processes for the manufacture of finished steel products where
the steel products can pick up defects. The defects picked up during these processes are (i)
casting defects, (ii) rolling defects, (iii) forging defects, and (iv) welding defects. (Fig 1).These
defects are described below.

Fig 1 Metallurgical processes and steel product defects

Casting defects

Casting is a forming process which converts liquid steel into a solid product. In foundries liquid
steel is cast into complex shapes by pouring of liquid steel into a mould in which it sets to the
required shape. In steel plants, liquid steel is normally continuously cast in the form of slab
(either thick or thin), bloom or billets. Casting defects are defined as those characteristics which
create a deficiency or imperfection exceeding quality limits imposed by design and service
requirements.

Defects in foundry cast steel products

There are in general three broad categories of defects in the foundry cast steel products. These
are (i) the major or most severe defects which result in scraping or rejection of castings, (ii)
intermediate defects which permit salvaging of castings through necessary repairs, and (iii)
minor defects which can be easily repaired. Common defects which generally occur in castings
are given below.

 Porosity – It consists of the spherical holes of varying size, with bright walls,
usually evenly distributed and formed due to the gases in the liquid steel. The
larger holes are tend to be found in the heavier section (i.e. last to solidify). If
the gas content of liquid steel is low prior to casting then the pinhole type of
porosity appears due to absorption of hydrogen (H2) from steam in the mould.
 Blowholes – Blowholes are mainly found in three forms namely (i) elongated
cavities with smooth walls, found on or just below the surface of the top most
part of castings and are caused by the entrapped air, (ii) round shaped cavities
with smooth bright walls which are caused by mould or core gases, coupled
with insufficient permeability or venting, and (iii) small cavities immediately
below the ‘skin’ of the casting surface which are formed by the reaction of the
liquid steel with the moisture in the moulding sand.
 Piping – This is the defect encountered in risers or within the casting proper.
 Inclusions – These are material discontinuities formed by the inclusion of
oxides, dross, and/or slag in a casting. They are due to either careless skimming
and pouring, or the use of a dirty ladle, or turbulence because of improper
gating methods. Faulty closing of moulds can cause ‘crush’ and loose pieces of
sand becoming incorporated in the casting.
 Sponginess – it is a defect which occurs during the early stages of solidification
of a casting and has the appearance, as the name imply, of a sponge. It is
usually local or general in extent. The major cause is failure to obtain
directional solidification of the casting towards the desired heat centres, such as
risers and ingates, insufficiently high pouring temperature and placing of
ingates adjacent to heavy sections.
 Shrinkage – It is a casting defect which occurs during the middle and later
stages of solidification of the cast steel. It has a branching formation. It is
readily distinguishable from that of sponginess and is in form of void.
 Hot tears – These are discontinuities which result from stresses developed close
to the solidification temperature while the steel is still weak. These are
attributed to the resistance of the mould and the core, which hinder contraction
of the casting, causing thermal stress. Hot tears resemble ragged cracks.
 Crack – Crack is well defined and normally straight. Cracks are formed after
complete solidification of the liquid steel. Quite large stresses are needed to
cause fracture, and the walls of such cracks are discoloured according to the
temperature of the casting when the cracks are formed. Bad casting design
coupled with restriction of contraction by the mould, core, or box bars
contribute to the cracking.
 Cold shuts – These are discontinuities (a form of lack of fusion) caused by the
failure of a stream of liquid steel to unite with another stream of liquid steel, or
 with a solid steel section such as a chaplet. They are linear in appearance, with
perhaps a curling effect at the ends. A cold shut is caused by the fluidity of the
liquid steel being too low (i.e. too cold surfaces) or perhaps unsatisfactory
methods of feeding the liquid steel.
 Unfused chaplet – A chaplet is often used to support a section of a mould or a
core within a mould and when the liquid steel is poured in the chaplets, they are
to fuse into the casting. When unfused, the chaplet causes a discontinuity in the
casting.
 Misplaced core – It is an irregularity of wall thickness, e.g. one wall thicker
than the other, It is caused by core out-of- alignment, careless coring-up and
closing of mould, or rough handling after the mould is closed.
 Segregation – Segregation is a condition resulting from the local concentration
of any of the constituents of the steel. The segregation can be ‘general’
extending over a considerable part of a casting, ‘local’ when only the shrinkage
voids or hot tears are wholly or partially filled with a constituent of low melting
point or ‘banded’ which is mainly associated with centrifugal castings but can
also occasionally occur in static castings.

Defects in continuous cast steel products

Defects of the continuous cast steel products are formed due to several factors which include
material related factors, casting speeds and temperatures, mould oscillation, casting powder,
segregation coefficient of solute elements, phase transformation, and mechanical and thermal
stresses. Common defects in steel which occurs during the continuous casting are as follows.

 Longitudinal cracks – They are formed in the direction of extraction of the

steel. The presence of these defects results into the rejection of the steel.
Longitudinal cracks occurs mainly due to (i) uneven primary cooling in the
mould, (ii) turbulent flow of liquid steel and a meniscus level variation in the
mould, (iii) non uniform or very intensive secondary cooling, (iv) variance in
thermal conductivity coefficient along the mould length causing unequal,
advanced wear of the mould, (v) casting of liquid steel with high superheat, (vi)
high speed of casting, and (vii) use of the casting powder with improper
characteristics.
 Transverse cracks – These cracks usually appear due to the tensions in the
longitudinal direction of the strand. The transverse cracks are usually ground
within the permissible limits provided they are not deep. These cracks appear
due to (i) the thermal stresses, (ii) variation in the meniscus level, (iii) presence
of segregation at the bottom of oscillation mark, and (iv) friction of the strand
in the mould.
 Corner cracks – These are cracks present in the edge of the cast steel product.
They appear due to high temperature variations in the liquid steel, higher
 aluminum content in the steel, higher sulphur level in the steel, non-uniform
edge temperature, excess friction in the edges during casting because of non-
uniform distribution of casting powder, and lower superheat of the steel.
 Star cracks – These cracks are very fine and caused by fragile nature of the
strand at high temperatures. They are visible only on scale free surface. The
surface is usually ground locally to remove the defect. Intense local cooling and
presence of copper at the austenitic grain boundary cause star cracks. To avoid
the star cracks in the cast product it is necessary to have (i) correct correlation
between the spray flow and the casting speed, (ii) a uniform layer of melted
casting powder between the strand and the mould, and (iii) adequate secondary
cooling of the strand for avoiding increase of the thermal stress.
 Depressions – These are local deformations in the cast surface. Depressions can
be longitudinal or transverse. Longitudinal depressions appear like the shallow
ditches oriented along the length of the cast product. They occur due to the
uneven heat transfer in the mould. These depressions can be controlled by
uniform cooling in the mould, by centering of the liquid steel jet in the mould,
by controlling the fluctuations of the mould steel level, use of a casting powder
with suitable viscosity and melting characteristics, and by regularly monitoring
the degree and uniformity of the mould wear. Transverse depressions may
occur cyclically along the strand length. The peritectic steels with low carbon
and high manganese contents and the stainless steels are sensitive to this defect.
The transverse depressions can be caused by the fluctuations in the mould
level, large quantity of casting powder, and by the turbulence of steel the sub-
meniscus level. These depressions are controlled by controlling the mould steel
level, having proper mould taper, use of a casting powder with suitable
viscosity and melting characteristics, and proper positioning of the input nozzle
and its support.
 Blowholes – These are cavities in the outer surface of the cast product and are
often associated with inclusions. They are caused by presence of gases in the
steel, humidity and quality of the casting powder, variation in the mould level,
presence of moisture in the tundish refractory lining. Blowholes are controlled
by sufficient de-oxidation of steel, use of dry casting powder, use of casting
powder compatible with the grade of steel grade, temperature and casting
speed, control of mould level fluctuations, control of nozzle immersion depth,
avoiding the high superheat and avoiding slag foaming around the nozzle.
 Interruptions in the physical continuity of the cast product – This defect occurs
when there is a pause in the casting process. It often occurs when there is a
change of heat during sequence mode of operation. This defect is caused by a
short interruption of the casting process and occurs when there is sudden
change in casting speed caused by the variations of steel temperature in the
tundish, by the variations of steel level in the mould, cogging of the nozzle due
 to high alumina levels, or by the variations of casting mode. The corrective
measures are maintenance of a constant casting speed, a narrow range of
temperature variation in the tundish, and steel level in the tundish within the
prescribed limits.
 Slag spots defects -This defect is caused by the penetration of tundish slag in
the cast product. It is caused by high level of slag in the tundish, rise in the
active oxygen percentage in the steel, lowering of steel level in the tundish
resulting in slag to enter the mould, and high viscosity of casting powder.