Effect of Top Slag Composition on Inclusion Characteristics during Vacuum Degassing of Tool Steel

The focus of the study was to investigate the effect of the chemical composition of the top slag on the inclusion chemical composition during vacuum treatment of a plastic mould tool steel. Sampling was done before and after vacuum degassing. The chemical composition of the inclusions was determined by using SEM combined with EDX. The results showed that several inclusion compositions were found before vacuum degassing, while only one main composition of inclusions was present after vacuum degassing. Furthermore, the composition of the top slag was found to have a great influence on the composition of the inclusions found in samples taken after vacuum degassing. The present study also shows that the vacuum degassing effectively reduces the number of inclusions in steel. Finally, the thermodynamic calculations of the activities using Wagner's equation were found to predict a lower oxygen activity value than the calculations made using the Thermo‐Calc software.