Aluminum Deoxidation Equilibria in Liquid Iron: Part III-Experiments and Thermodynamic Modeling of the Fe-Mn-Al-O System

Abstract

Deoxidation equilibria in high-Mn- and high-Al-alloyed liquid steels were studied over the entire Fe-Mn-Al composition range by both experiments and thermodynamic modeling. Effect of Mn on the Al deoxidation equilibria in liquid iron was measured by the different experimental techniques depending on the Al content. In order to confirm the reproducibility of the experimental results, the deoxidation experiments were carried out reversibly from high oxygen state by addition of Al as a deoxidizer, and from low oxygen state by addition of Fe2O3 or MnO as an oxygen source. For the Al-rich side, CaO flux was added on top of liquid iron in order to remove suspended Al2O3 inclusions in the melt. Based on the present experimental result and available critically evaluated literature data, the Al deoxidation equilibria in Fe-Mn-Al-O liquid alloy were thermodynamically modeled. The Modified Quasichemical Model was used in order to take into account a strong short-range ordering of atoms in molten state. Deoxidation equilibria and inclusion stability diagram for entire Fe-Mn-Al melt were successfully reproduced by the present model.