Component consumption diagrams for deoxidation of steel with Y–Si and Y–Al alloys

The peculiarities of the current political and market situation force domestic metallurgists to solve increasingly complex technological problems. The development of technology imposes strict requirements on the quality of steel products, increased mechanical properties, corrosion resistance in aggressive environments, etc. To solve these problems, it is necessary to improve the technology of refining molten steel, modifying non-metallic inclusions (NI), which have a negative impact on the operational properties of the metal. In addition, it is important to control the structure of the cast metal, which will increase the stability of the quality characteristics of metal products. It is known that alloys with rare earth metals, mainly cerium group (Ce, La, etc.), are widely used to simultaneously influence the morphology and properties of NI, as well as refine the grain structure of the cast metal. When using materials containing yttrium as a REE, similar mechanisms are realized, but there are also a number of features that make it possible to distinguish this element from the general series. At the same time, the behavior of yttrium under conditions of extra-furnace steel treatment has not been sufficiently studied. In the course of this work, the thermodynamic features of steel deoxidation by alloys containing yttrium were investigated. Flow diagrams for Y–Si and Y–Al alloys were constructed, allowing one to determine the optimal ratio of components in the ligature, optimize the compositions of multicomponent alloys, and also establish rational conditions for their use in refining steel for various initial oxygen contents.