Dispersion of primary inclusions of Ce2O3 and CeS in Fe-0.20 mass%C-0.02 mass%P alloy

In order to introduce primary inclusions uniformly into a liquid steel, the experiments on the coalescence and separation by flotation of the deoxidat ion product of Ce2O3 or CeS particles were carried out at 1873 K in an Fe-0 .20 mass%C-0.02 mass%P alloy. It was found that the size and number of part icles were strongly dependent on the holding time at 1873 K and the cooling rate. The number and size of clusters and those of particles in a cluster in a polished cross-section were metallographically examined. The spatial p article size distribution, which was obtained by applying the Schwartz-Salt ykov transformation to the observed planar size distribution, was studied a s a function of holding time at 1873 K. From the plot in the probability gr aph, the log-normal distribution was found to be a good approximation for t he spatial particle size. The contents of insoluble Ce obtained from chemic al analysis were compared with those estimated from the data for particle s ize distribution by using various methods.