Inclusion and Bubble in Steel—A Review

The type, morphology and sources of inclusion in steels, including indigenous and exogenous inclusions, were discussed and reviewed. Indigenous inclusions are deoxidation products or inclusions precipitated during cooling and solidification of steel. Exogenous inclusions arise primarily from the incidental chemical (reoxidation) and mechanical interaction of liquid steel with its surroundings (slag entrainment and erosion of lining refractory). Types and causes for the nozzle clogging were also summarized. Reasons for bubble formation and bubble size distribution in steels were discussed thereafter. Finally, morphology and causes of inclusion-related defects in continuously cast steel products were reviewed, such as flange cracking in cans, slag spots and line defects on strips.