Abstract
The most important subject in the steelmaking process is the control of non-metallic inclusions. Non-metallic inclusions with a high melting point do not deform during a hot working process because they are relatively hard. Hence, the inclusion composition should be controlled in order to achieve a low melting point to prevent product defects. Therefore, an MnO–SiO2-based inclusion is considered to be one of the preferred systems.
Moreover, the heat treatment of austenitic stainless steel has been reported to influence the composition of MnO–SiO2-type inclusions; these inclusions change into MnO–Cr2O3-type, MnO–Nb2O5-type, and MnO–V2O3-type inclusions.
In this study, we investigated the influence of heat treatment on the composition of the inclusions in the martensitic stainless steel.
In general, a scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (SEM–EDS) is used for the quantitative analysis of inclusions; however, SEM–EDS cannot simultaneously analyze a large number of inclusions. Therefore, a new technique using the SEM–EDS along with the image analysis software “Particle Analysis” was used for the chemical analysis and the size measurement of a large number of inclusions (hereafter abbreviated as the PA method). The heat-treatment-induced compositional change of the inclusions in martensitic stainless steel was evaluated by using both the analysis methods.
