Influence of Rare Earth Oxide on Morphology of Crystallized Phases in Mold Fluxes for Continuous Casting

The influence of RE oxide on morphology of crystallized phases in both industrial mold flux and laboratory prepared flux was studied by lithofacies analysis and SEM. The form of RE oxide in solidified mold flux was also investigated. The results are: the crystallized phases of two fluxes are cuspidine, a little wollastonite and vitreous body; the RE oxide restrains the formation of wollastonite and accelerates the growth of cuspidine phase; when the content of RE oxide is much more than 10%, the crystallized phase of RE oxide in the mold flux is mainly RE_2O_3·CaO·2SiO_2, and some RE oxide containing fluoride is formed; when RE oxide content in the mold flux is over the solubility, the viscosity of mold flux is increased obviously.