Inclusions in commercial low and medium carbon ferromanganese

The microstructures of commercial low and medium carbon ferromanganese have been studied by optical microscopy and electron microprobe techniques. Ele ment analysis and mapping have been performed on impurities in the matrix a nd nonmetallic inclusions present. The results show that the most common no nmetallic inclusion is manganese oxide, followed by complex compounds of ma nganese oxide, silicon oxide, and manganese sulfide. The different inclusio ns have been assessed according to the SS 111116 method. It follows that ov er 85 pet of the present nonmetallic inclusions are manganese oxides and th at the amount of manganese oxide inclusions is inversely proportional to th e carbon content in standard refined ferromanganese.