Ladle glaze: major source of oxide inclusions during ladle treatment of steel

Abstract Samples of ladle lining covered by glaze were taken from industrial ladles of different ages at Uddeholm Tooling AB, Hagfors, Sweden. It was found in the samples taken at and below the slag line that a slag infiltrated layer was covered by an outer layer containing many MgO 'islands' of various sizes. The microstructure of the infiltrating slag was the same as the matrix of the outer layer. The slag was found to decompose into the compound 3CaO.Al2O3 and a liquid phase during the cooling process. The former phase along with tiny MgO particles from the ladle glaze was found to be one of the major sources of inclusions during the degassing and flotation periods of ladle treatment. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the reaction between the ladle glaze and the slag from the electric arc furnace resulted in the formation of MgO–Al2O3 spinel and an oxide solution, which were also the main inclusions found at the initial stages of ladle treatment. Evidence of this reaction was found in the lining samples taken above the slag line.