Deoxidized steel
kind of steel
Deoxidized steel (also known as killed steel) is steel that has some or all of the oxygen removed from the melt during the steelmaking process. Liquid steels contain dissolved oxygen after their conversion from molten iron, but the solubility of oxygen in steel decreases with cooling. As steel cools, excess oxygen can cause blowholes or precipitate FeO. Therefore, several strategies have been developed for deoxidation. This may be accomplished by adding metallic deoxidizing agents to the melt either before or after it is tapped, or by vacuum treatment, in which carbon dissolved in the steel is the deoxidizer.
Elements used for deoxidizing steel
Aluminium, silicon, and manganese are the most widely used elements for the deoxidation of steel. Usually, aluminium is added in the form of pellets or wire, while silicon and manganese in the form of ferroalloys. The reaction products obtained following the deoxidation of the liquid steel bath are respectively alumina, silica and manganese oxide:
2 Al + 3 O → Al2O3
Si + 2 O → SiO2
Mn + O → MnO
The products of the deoxidation reaction are distributed within the slag produced by the steel deoxidation treatment. The slag can be skimmed off, therefore removing the dissolved oxygen from the liquid steel bath.
Types
There are four types, ranging from fully deoxidized to slightly deoxidized: killed, semi-killed, rimmed, and capped. Note that none of the various types are better than the other as each is useful in its own regard.
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