Development of grain refinement of cast steel in recent years

In recent years, for the consideration of sustainable development, in the application of steel castings, on the one hand, it is required to improve the strength, improve various service properties, and strive for the lightweight of castings, on the other hand, it is also required to reduce the consumption of expensive alloy elements and avoid some complicated heat treatment, so as to save resources and energy. In this case, the process of grain refinement of cast steel by adding a small amount of additives in a way similar to the inoculation treatment of cast iron has been paid more attention by industrial countries.

Grain refinement is the core technology of developing new generation of high performance materials in forging and rolling of various steels. In cast steel production, of course, it should be the same, but the way to achieve the goal is certainly different from forging and rolling.

In recent years, the American foundry industry has paid special attention to this subject. It has been carrying out a long-standing basic research work, and the research work is still in progress. This is undoubtedly an important opportunity for the application of grain refining technology in steel casting industry.

In 2009, R.B. Tuttle, a professor at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan State, published a research report on grain refinement of cast steel. Since 2009, this research work has been funded by the U.S. naval vessel research department year by year. Tuttle’s research team has conducted quite comprehensive research on various influencing factors. In addition, Elkem, Foseco and other well-known multinational companies that produce casting materials also give related alloy materials to support this work. Some American foundry enterprises also provide conditions to assist in the research and experiment.

Since 2009, at least one related technical report has been published at the annual meeting of the American Foundry Society (AFS) or published in the International Journal of metalcasting, which is sponsored by AFS. This research work has not been completed yet.

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