Thermodynamics of Complex Sulfide Inclusion Formation in Ca-Treated Al-Killed Structural Steel

Controlling the morphology of the sulfide inclusion is of vital importance in enhancing the properties of structural steel. Long strip-shaped sulfides in hot-rolled steel can spherize when, instead of the inclusion of pure single-phase MnS, the guest is a complex sulfide, such as an oxide-sulfide duplex and a solid-solution sulfide particle. In this study, the inclusions in a commercial rolled structural steel were investigated. Spherical and elongated oxide-sulfide duplex as well as single-phase (Mn,Ca)S solid solution inclusions were observed in the steel. A thermodynamic equilibrium between the oxide and sulfide inclusions was proposed to understand the oxide-sulfide duplex inclusion formation. Based on the equilibrium solidification principle, thermodynamic discussions on inclusion precipitation during the solidification process were performed for both general and resulfurized structural steel. The predicted results of the present study agreed well with the experimental ones.