Effects of Adding Order of Si and Al on Refining Characteristics of Fe-Si-Al Alloy Melt Using CaO Refractory

Abstract

  Using CaO refractories, vacuum induction melting is increasingly applied to Fe-Si-Al alloys for magnetic recording materials. However, as Si and Al contained in Fe-Si-Al alloys are reactive with CaO, it is important to consider the effects of these elements on refining properties in the melting process.
  In this work, experiments were performed to examine the effects of the adding order of these elements on the refining characteristics in the melting process. It was found that the cleanest Fe-Si-Al alloy can be obtained by adding a small amount of Al first and then Si and the Al remaining. This effect can be explained by the reactions between the wall of CaO and Al and Si.