Effect of Rare‐Earth La on Inclusion Evolution in High‐Al Steel

Abstract

To investigate the evolution of inclusions in high‐Al steel with addition of La, a series of laboratory experiments and thermodynamic calculations are performed, considering the reaction time and amount of La added. The main inclusions in the high‐Al steel without the addition of La are Al 2 O 3 , MnS, and Al 2 O 3 –MnS. The La treatment can efficiently modify Al 2 O 3 to La–Al–O or La–O–S inclusions. For La additions less than 0.0041 wt%, the evolution route for the inclusion in high‐Al steel is Al 2 O 3 → LaAl 11 O 18 → LaAlO 3 with an increase in reaction time. For high La additions, the evolution route for the Al 2 O 3 inclusion is Al 2 O 3 → LaAl 11 O 18 → LaAlO 3 → La 2 O 2 S → La 2 S 3 . The experimental results correlate with those of the thermodynamic analysis. Notably, excess La in high‐Al molten steel may consume O and S to form La oxysulfide and sulfide, respectively, which prevents the precipitation of MnS inclusion and promotes the formation of AlN inclusion during solidification.