Clean Steel Technology

-Chethan.K , Director ( Tech &Excel)

Contents

• Why “clean steel” is becoming “ need of the day “ – Impact of increasing

demand from Automotive industry w.r.to Carbon emissions and Fatigue /
Reliability .
• Clean steel – Met aspects , what constitutes CLEANLINESS ?
• Clean steel evaluation techniques – Conventional and Best Practices.
• Journey from BQ to IQ ( Bearing quality to Isotropic quality ) – European
practices .
• Clean steel mfg process development / history – Leading AP steel plant /
Study on Global Best Steel plants , DOE done and results achieved .
• SLRM next steps .
Why steel cleanliness is important?
 Decides the quality of the steel.
Improves steel properties, such as tensile strength, formability,
toughness, weldability, cracking-resistance, corrosion
resistance, and fatigue-resistance etc.
 Demand for better mechanical properties of steels
Driving force for highly demanding applications such as
transmission components for the automotive industry, and
construction parts
Ever increasing demands on performance of
Automotive Industry – Current scenario

Key takeaways :
1. Design optimization ( Light weighting ).
2. High performance Steels ( Ultra high
strength and toughness , Fatigue
performance )
BQ versus IQ - What is the difference ?
Relationship between Defect size ( inclusions) and
Fatigue performance ( OVACO Study )
Relative Fatigue performance of different families of
steel with respect to cleanliness ( ASTM E2948)
What are the elements of clean steel?

• Clean steels refer to the steels which are free from inclusions.
Inclusions are non metallic particles embedded in the steel matrix.
• Clean steels require lowering of other residual impurity elements such
as
• Phosphorus (P)
• Sulphur (S)
• Total oxygen (O2)
• Nitrogen (N2)
• Hydrogen (H2)
• Sometimes carbon (C) and
• Trace elements such as arsenic (As), tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), lead
(Pb), and bismuth (Bi).
What are Sources of Non-metallic inclusions
The NMIs are constituted by glass-ceramic phases embedded in the steel matrix.
Presence of the NMIs in the steel is the main reason which affects the steel
cleanliness. NMIs in steels come from many sources which include the following:
1.Deoxidation products
2.Reoxidation products
3.Slag entrapment
4.Exogenous inclusions
5.Chemical reaction inclusions
Various types of NMIs
(i) Oxides such as FeO, Al2O3, SiO2, MnO, Al2O3.SiO2, FeO.Al2O3,
MgO.Al2O3, and MnO.SiO2 etc.
(ii) Sulphides such as FeS, CaS, MnS, MgS, Ce2S3,
(iii) Nitirides such as TiN (titanium nitrides), AlN, VN (vanadium nitride),and BN
(boron nitride) etc.,
(iv) Oxysulphides such as MnS.MnO, and Al2O3.CaS etc.,
(v) Carbonitrides such as carbonitrides of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), and niobium
(Nb)
(vi) Phosphides such as Fe3P, Fe2P, Mn5P2.
 Types of NMIs(Non-metallic inclusions)

• Based on size, classify NMIs as Micro-Inclusions and Macro-Inclusions.

• According to a traditional classification, there are two main types of NMIs a
function of their origin. They are (i) endogenous inclusion, and (ii) exogenous
inclusion
Exogenous inclusion
• Exogenous inclusion is macro-inclusion which is due to the consequence of
trapping of non-metallic materials coming from slag, refractory fragments or from
rising and covering powders used for protecting the steel and avoiding sticking
during the casting.
• The NMI belonging to this class can be featured by large size and its origin cannot
be immediately recognizable, although its presence can strongly compromise the
micro-structural soundness of the steels and the associated mechanical reliability.
Endogenous inclusions
• The endogenous is the micro-inclusion which is formed by the physical-chemical
effects which occur during the melting and solidification process.
• The endogenous inclusion is formed by precipitation within the liquid phase due
to the decrease of the solubility of the chemical species contained in the steels.
• It can also be formed from the O2 and S remaining after deoxidation and
desulphurization process or through reoxidation
• This class of NMI cannot be completely eliminated from the steel but the
decreasing of its volume fraction and of the average size has to be taken under
strict control in order to avoid the activation of damaging phenomena.
Typical Steel Cleanliness requirements
Methods of evaluating steel cleanliness
1. Direct methods
• Metallographical microscope observation (MMO).
• Image analysis
• Sulphur print
• Blue fracture testing
• Slime (electrolysis) method
• Electron beam (EB) melting
• Cold crucible (CC) melting
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
 2. Indirect methods
• Total O2 measurement
• N2 pick-up
• Dissolved Al loss measurement
• Slag composition measurement
• Submerged entry nozzle (SEN) clogging

Summary : There is a NO SINGLE std method for overall steel cleanliness assessment. Global steel cos.,
use the following
 Total oxygen, Metallography, XPS, SEM for small inclusions .
 Slime plus SEM for large inclusions.
 N2 pick up for Reoxidation .
 Slag composition analysis for inclusion absorption
Best practice for inclusion quantification methods –
Globally followed ( combination of LOM, SEM, UST ,
Submerged UT )
Key requirements of steel making to achieve high
cleaniness.
• For achieving a satisfactory cleanliness in steel, it is necessary to
control and improve a wide range of operating practices throughout
the steelmaking processes.
(i) Additions of deoxidizing agents and ferro-alloys
(ii) Secondary metallurgical treatments
(iii) Shrouding systems and casting practice.
IQ Steel making – Generic practice
Cleanliness evaluation – Immersion UT ( 10MHz)-
Bad versus Good samples
Bao Steel – History of Clean steel – Desulphurisation

Conventional BOF process had limitations in producing low S grades due to S pick up phenomenon because of
addition of lime plus scrap. Hot metal pre treatment alone cant guarantee less than 30PPM of S consistently ,
which pushed the need for after tapping desulphurization
Effectiveness of Desulphurisation – comparison of
different techniques
Bao Steel- History of Clean steel –
Dephosphorisation
Effectiveness of Dephosphorisation – comparison of
different techniques

Conclusion : Techniques C and D are capable of achieving 66 and 58 PPM of Phos respectively.
Bao Steels – Production of Low oxygen steels
Bao Steels – Relationship between Total Fe in slag
and Total oxygen in tundish

Conclusion : Total Fe in slag ( less than 5% ) gives less than 15PPM of T(O)
Relationship between Oxygen at decarburization and
T(O)in Tun dish

Conclusion : Decrease of T(O) at RH decarburization end improves cleanliness of molten

steel
Relationship between Total Oxygen and Tun dish
Flux Basicity .

Conclusion : Higher Basicity tun dish flux improves T(O) in liquid metal
T(O) versus Macro inclusions in steel
Effect of Tun dish flux basicity on Inclusion area

Conclusion : High Basicity tun dish Flux results in higher cleanliness

Effect of different Flow control devices on Macro/
Micro inclusions plus Total Oxygen

Conclusion : Option C ( 1 dam plus 1 weir w/o filter) gives the highest efficiency in
terms of inclusion removal
Effect of tun dish flux basicity on Carbon pick up
Effect of viscosity and carbon content of mold
powder on carbon pick-up ( “after “corresponds to
high viscocity/ low carbon content )

Conclusion : High viscosity mould powder with low Carbon content mold powder reduces
carbon pick up
Refractory chemistry and Carbon Pick up

Conclusion : Mgo/ Al2O3 based

system has the least Carbon pick
up
Global Steel plants – Best practice study by Illinois
University – Key findings ( Clean steel mfg )
• Relative contribution to inclusion reduction from different stages.
Ladle treatment ( 65-75%).
Tundish operations ( 20-25%) considering reoxidation .
Mold ( 5-10%)
Ladle operations /treatment aspects related to Steel
cleanliness
• Tap oxygen : This decreases with degassing time and reaches fixed
level of T(O)after a reasonably long degassing cycle ( say 15 mins ).
CAPA: Degassing cycle optimization
• FeO and MnO in the slag – Carryover slag to ladle with high Feo plus
MnO reacts with dissolved Al forming Al2O3.
CAPA : Minimise Slag carry over to ladle in tapping using Mech slag stoppers
( like floating ball )/ Slag sensor , addition of slag conditioner that creates slag
red or deoxidation ( Al plus Burnt lime ) .
• Ladle treatment – Cal injection having pronounced effect on inclusion
levels ( see next slide )
Effect of different ladle treatments on inclusion
Tun dish operations/aspects related to Steel
Cleanliness
• Casting transitions that happen at start of casting , during ladle
exchange, SEN change, end of sequence create unsteady situation
/reoxidation
•
Tun dish operations/ aspects related to Steel
cleanliness
 CAPA
 Stop flow of liquid into mould until tun dish is filled and bubbling gas through stopper to aid flotation .
 Open new ladles with submerged shrouding .
 Electromagnetic level indicators to prevent slag entry into tun dish .
• Tun dish lining refractories – Magnesia based are better than SiO2 based ( SiO2 reacts with Al to give
Al2O3).
• Tun dish flux – Basic fluxes ( Cao+Al2O3+SiO2) give lower Oxygen in tun dish .Two layer fluxes ( Low
melting basic basic flux at bottom plus to absorb inclusions top layer to insulate ).
• Tun dish flow control – Right combination of flow control devices ( turbo pad,impact pad, weirs,
filters, dams, baffels ) to achieve liquid steel residence time is increased .
• Transfer operations – Ladle shroud to protect while transferring from ladle to tun dish and to mould .
• Ladle opening –Self opening in place of Lanced opening is the best ( in lanced opening, shroud has to
be opened resulting in reoxidation ).
• Sealing efficiency – Stiffened holders / between ladle to tun dish shroud and tun dish to SEN .
• Nozzle clogging – Minimise / Eliminate
Mould and continuous casting machine (CCM) operation
CCM aspects related to Steel cleanliness

• Defects are often found associated with transients in the process, such as changes in casting speed, tundish changes, or
clogged nozzles.
• It is better to control mold level control in the range ±3mm.
• A profitable tool for optimizing the fluid flow and therefore improving cleanliness is the electromagnetic brake (EMBR)
[98], which bends the jet and shortens its impingement depth, inclusions thus move more upwards, tend to top powder or
be captured by the solidified shell at the surface of the cast product .