LADLE MELT TREATMENT OF HIGH SULFUR STAINLESS STEELS

1,2 BURJA Jaka
Institutions:
1 IMT - Institute of Metals and Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia, EU, jaka.burja@imt.si
2 Department of Materials and Metallurgy, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, EU
Conference:
32nd International Conference on Metallurgy and Materials, Orea Congress Hotel Brno, Czech Republic, EU, May 17 - 19, 2023
Proceedings:
Proceedings 32nd International Conference on Metallurgy and Materials
Pages:
33-37
ISBN:
978-80-88365-12-9
ISSN:
2694-9296
Published:
13th June 2023
Metrics:
172 views / 121 downloads
Abstract

The influence of sulfur on both slag and melt is very important in steelmaking. This is especially true for high-sulfur machining steels. Machinability is achieved by alloying high sulfur contents, above 300 ppm. These are steels that form small chips and shavings during mechanical processing by cutting, which is more appropriate and favorable for both the workpiece and the processing tool and machine. However, the secondary steelmaking slag is typically designed for desulfurization. This means that the sulfur content rapidly falls after sulfur additions. This is especially true for high machinability stainless steel grades where S contents can exceed 1000 ppm. This causes the sulfur wire yield to vary greatly in each charge, making the process unreliable. Some aspects of understanding the interaction between the steel melt and slag and the effect on casting are presented in this work. Based on industrial charges, we analyzed the yield of sulfur additions and the influencing factors on the efficiency of the sulfur addition. The lower slag basicity was linked to lover sulfur distribution rations, and lover sulfur distribution rations were linked to higher sulfur yields. Melt and slag samples were analyzed. Slag entrapment during ingot casting was linked to the high sulfur contents.

Keywords: Desulfurization, sulfur, stainless steel, steelmaking

© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Scroll to Top