TY - JOUR

T1 - Influence of Tramp Elements on Surface Properties of Liquid Medium-Carbon Steels

AU - Cejka, Julian

AU - Sammer, Bernhard

AU - Gruber, Isabell

AU - Michelic, Susanne Katharina

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Steel Research International published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

PY - 2024/6/25

Y1 - 2024/6/25

N2 - The transformation of the steel industry is inevitably linked to increased recycling rates of steel. However, end-of-life scrap is often contaminated with tramp elements like copper, molybdenum, and tin and while their influence on mechanical properties of steels is well described, their effect on nonmetallic inclusions remains largely unknown. Therefore, herein, two medium-carbon steels are alloyed with up to 1 wt% of the listed tramp elements. The influence these elements have on the inclusion behavior in liquid steel is investigated using the sessile drop method in contact with alumina and zirconia as well as in steel/slag melting experiments to evaluate the formation and separation of new inclusions. Additionally, a semiempirical approach using CALPHAD to model the surface tension of steels with tramp elements is done. Copper and tin decrease the surface tension, while molybdenum increases the surface tension. It is demonstrated that most investigated alloys lead to a decrease of wetting angle as compared to the nonalloyed steels. The shown trends in the sessile drop experiments are lower contact angles with increased surface tension while a higher number of inclusions occurs with a decrease in surface tension. Thus, this study demonstrates that tramp elements affect the oxidic cleanness of steels.

AB - The transformation of the steel industry is inevitably linked to increased recycling rates of steel. However, end-of-life scrap is often contaminated with tramp elements like copper, molybdenum, and tin and while their influence on mechanical properties of steels is well described, their effect on nonmetallic inclusions remains largely unknown. Therefore, herein, two medium-carbon steels are alloyed with up to 1 wt% of the listed tramp elements. The influence these elements have on the inclusion behavior in liquid steel is investigated using the sessile drop method in contact with alumina and zirconia as well as in steel/slag melting experiments to evaluate the formation and separation of new inclusions. Additionally, a semiempirical approach using CALPHAD to model the surface tension of steels with tramp elements is done. Copper and tin decrease the surface tension, while molybdenum increases the surface tension. It is demonstrated that most investigated alloys lead to a decrease of wetting angle as compared to the nonalloyed steels. The shown trends in the sessile drop experiments are lower contact angles with increased surface tension while a higher number of inclusions occurs with a decrease in surface tension. Thus, this study demonstrates that tramp elements affect the oxidic cleanness of steels.

KW - medium-carbon steels

KW - nonmetallic inclusions

KW - steel cleanness

KW - surface behavior

KW - tramp elements

KW - wetting

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196751416&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/srin.202300715

DO - 10.1002/srin.202300715

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85196751416

VL - ??? Stand: 10. Juli 2024

JO - Steel research international

JF - Steel research international

SN - 1611-3683

IS - ??? Stand: 10. Juli 2024

M1 - 2300715

ER -