Sulfide shape control in high strength low alloy steels

Abstract

Directionality of mechanical properties—such as toughness and bend formability—is typical of hot rolled steels processed on modern, hot strip mills. In aluminum killed steels, directionality results mainly from elongated (type II) manganese sulfide inclusions. Directionality can be reduced by retaining the original globular shape of the precipitated sulfides. This can be accomplished by promoting the formation of sulfides which are more stable and have a higher melting point than that of manganese sulfide. Thermodynamic considerations indicate that additions of Ti, Zr, Ca, Mg, and rare earths are suitable for this purpose. Experimental work on laboratory heats containing 0.020 to 0.25 pct S involved mainly additions of rare earths (mischmetal or silicides) to a V−Al−N high strength, low alloy steel. Other strong sulfide formers were not utilized either because of too high vapor pressure at steelmaking temperatures or because of their strong interaction with nitrogen. For cerium contents of 0.03 to 0.04 pct, the shape of inclusions, identified as rare earth sulfides, was globular. Control of sulfide shape contributed to a marked improvement in toughness and formability of steel in the direction transverse to the rolling direction. The results have been verified in full scale plant trials.