CONTENT MODIFICATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF NONMETALLIC INCLUSIONS DURING LOW-CARBON IF STEEL LADLE TREATMENT

Development of advanced materials for the automotive industry allows us to produce a lighter body without losing strength characteristics of the structure. It became possible by the creation and subsequent introduction into the production of such steel grades as IF (Interstitial Free) – steel with no interstitial solute atoms to strain the solid iron lattice and IF-BH (Bake Hardening) – steel with hardening during hot drying. The article provides a brief overview of the history of the emergence of IF steel and the current situation in the production of it in Russia. One of the quality criteria for steels of IF grades is purity of the metal by non-metallic inclusions (NMI), which negatively affect the plastic properties of the material, lead to the formation of surface defects of flat rolled products and reduce the manufacturability due to a decrease in the casting speed of steel, as they cause overgrowing of steel casting nozzles. The article presents investigation results of the content, composition, size and morphology of non-metallic inclusions (NMI) in the metal samples taken at all stages of ladle treatment and casting of IF steel grade production using quantitative metallographic analysis, electrochemical dissolution (ED) followed by X-ray microanalysis of isolated inclusions, Auger electron spectroscopy and fractional gas analysis (FGA). As a result of the analysis of inclusions in the studied samples using a scanning electron microscope, according to morphological features, five characteristic types of inclusions were identified, which reduce the performance properties and strength cha racteristics of the materials produced from them. Results of the analysis of nonmetallic inclusions in metal samples obtained by the ED method are in good agreement with the results of the determination of oxide nonmetallic inclusions by the FGA method. The method of fractional gas analysis shows the dynamics of changes in the content of various types of oxide nonmetallic inclusions during the secondary (ladle) treatment of steel. It is shown that application of the FGA method allows to make analysis of causes of the harmful NMI formation in the metal and to correct operations at ladle treatment.