J Fail. Anal. and Preven.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-018-0575-5
TECHNICAL ARTICLE—PEER-REVIEWED
A Study to Relate Slab Surface Defects with FeO-Type Slivers
in Hot Rolled Product
T. K. Roy . Nemai Chandra Gorain . Shainu Suresh
Submitted: 13 June 2018 / in revised form: 25 October 2018
 ASM International 2018
Abstract Slivers are a common defect observed in rolled
steel products such as plates and strips. This is one of the
causes of rejection for applications requiring good surface
finish. Typically, slivers are categorized into nonmetallic
inclusion based and iron oxide (FeO) based, but their origin
could be many. Unlike slivers originating from nonmetallic
inclusions, analysis of FeO-type slivers is often not con-
clusive on the source or origin. Proper inspection and
conditioning processes of slab surface before rolling can
ensure good surface quality. Based on inspection results
and metallographic analysis of downgraded rolled prod-
ucts, it was found in the present study that the majority of
the slivers were FeO related. To minimize downgrading at
coil stage or reduce salvaging activity, identification of the
causes of FeO-type slivers became necessary. A systematic
study was undertaken to establish a link between various
slab surface defects leading to FeO-type slivers in hot
rolled coils. Weld marking near the defects in slabs proved
to be a novel technique to verify and confirm slab defect
and its manifestation into hot rolled coils. Based on the
appearance of slivers and severity, visual standards were
developed illustrating characteristics and severities of slab
defects, and the slab surface conditioning norms. The
visual standard became useful in making decisions on the
T. K. Roy (&)
N. C. Gorain
Research and Development, Tata Steel, Jamshedpur 831001,
India
e-mail: tkr@tatasteel.com
N. C. Gorain
e-mail: nemai@tatasteel.com
S. Suresh
Product Technology Group, Tata Steel, Jamshedpur 831001,
India
e-mail: shainu@tatasteel.com
conditioning need of the slab and timely feedback to the
upstream process. The paper describes in detail the
methodology and approach adopted for this study.
Keywords FeO-type sliver
Hot rolled product

Star crack
Longitudinal crack
Groove marks

Weld bead marking
Introduction
In flat rolled steel products, slivers are one of the common
surface defects and undesirable for many applications
particularly those which require very good surface finish.
The rejections of rolled sheets and plates due to sliver
defects are primarily for two reasons: (1) aesthetic and (2)
it can act as a notch during downstream processing leading
to cracks or failure. Detection of slivers at the intermediate
or final stage of processing causes dissatisfaction to the
customers. Thus, to ensure good surface quality, steel
manufacturers need to put appropriate facility and pro-
cesses so that such defects do not occur, and in case it is
found, then materials are quarantined or repaired if possi-
ble, before dispatch to the customers. Several studies [1–4]
have been carried out on this subject, and sliver defects
have been broadly categorized into two groups, namely
nonmetallic inclusion based and iron oxide (FeO) based.
Unlike slivers originating from nonmetallic inclusions,
metallurgical analysis of FeO-type slivers is often incon-
clusive on the source or origin. Steelmaking and casting
processes, slab conditioning by scarfing and grinding,
reheating of slabs, hot rolling and mechanical handling can
all be the causes of generation of FeO-type slivers in rolled
coils, plates or strips.
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