Assessment of Oxygen Control and Its Effect on Inclusion Characteristics during Electroslag Remelting of Die Steel

Deoxidation during electroslag remelting of S136 die steel was experimentally studied. The characteristics of inclusions in the electrode and ESR ingots were determined by image analyzer and SEM‐EDS. The results show that the oxygen content can be reduced from 89 ppm in the electrode to the lowest (12 ppm) in the ingot only when protective Ar gas remelting in combination with specially designed slag deoxidation treatment were employed simultaneously. The proportion of the oxygen combined as oxide inclusions increases with decreasing the total oxygen content in ESR ingot. The original inclusions in the electrode are mainly large (Mn,Cr)S and the large inclusions in the form of Al₂O₃ core surrounded by an outer sulfide layer, besides a few pure Al₂O₃ inclusions. After ESR process, while only pure Al₂O₃ inclusions with the size of about 1 µm were observed in ESR ingots. The large inclusions in the electrode were removed during ESR process. With higher oxygen content in the ingot, the contents of inclusions and large inclusions would be relatively higher. The results from industrial experiments have confirmed the availability of the present oxygen control technique. The mechanisms of oxygen behavior and control as well as inclusion evolution during ESR process were proposed based on experimental results along with thermodynamic analysis.