Inclusion Engineering

The aim of inclusion engineering is to generate such inclusions in steel which are beneficial or at least harmless during the process and in the final steel end product. Thus, it means control of the amount, size distribution, and composition as well as properties of nonmetallic inclusions in steel. In this review, the fundamentals of inclusions formation and control are discussed. As examples, production of steels with deformable silicate inclusions, modification of oxides, and sulfides with calcium, and inclusions for grain refinement are introduced. As a practical steelmaking case, the last half-century progress of ball-bearing steel is reviewed. Electro slag remelting is shortly examined as an example of unconventional method for steel refining, inclusion control, and structure improvement. Finally, some future trends and ideas are considered.