In order to study the effect of Ca and sulfur contents on the characteristics of inclusions, industrial experiments using 95CrMo steel were conducted. SEM-EDS detections and stereological analysis were used to probe the characteristics of inclusions, including their compositions, morphologies, size, number density, and distribution. The results indicate that there were mainly three types of inclusions in 95CrMo steel billets with 6–18 ppm Ca and 30–100 ppm S: inclusions with single-phased morphology mainly composed of oxides; isolated MnS/CaS-only inclusions; inclusions with multi-phased morphology. The three-dimensional inclusion size distribution suggests that there were more Type-1 inclusions with a small size in low S containing steels. The average diameter of all types of inclusions increased with increasing Ca or S content in 95CrMo steel, indicating that the formation of MnS and CaS coarsened their size. The density distribution of inclusions indicates that the more inclusions there are, the more easily they aggregate and collide. Moreover, it is presumably concluded that the formation of sulfide in the outer layer of oxide inclusions weaken the attraction between oxide inclusions. The equilibrated transformation and formation of inclusions during the cooling process of 95CrMo steel was discussed based on thermodynamic calculation. The equilibrated transformation trajectory of inclusions in 95CrMo steel during the cooling process was Ca₂SiO₄ + MgO → Ca₃MgSi₂O₈ → Spinel + CaS, which was corresponding to the detected results. The precipitation regular of sulfide was obtained. The formation mechanism for three types of inclusions was discussed.

In this study, solidified films of CaO-Al₂O₃-BaO-CaF₂-Li₂O-based mold fluxes with different contents of Al₂O₃ addition were acquired by immersing an improved water-cooled copper probe in bulk molten slags. This probe can obtain films with representative structures. Different slag temperatures and probe immersion times were employed to investigate the crystallization process. The crystals in the solidified films were identified using X-ray diffraction, the morphologies of the crystals were observed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the kinetic conditions, especially the activation energy of devitrified crystallization in glassy slags, were calculated and discussed based on the differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicated that after adding extra Al₂O₃, the growing speed and thickness of the solidified films increased, and more time was required for the film thickness to reach a steady state. In addition, fine spinel (MgAl₂O₄) precipitated in the films at the early stage of solidification after adding 10 wt% of extra Al₂O₃. Together with LiAlO₂, spinel (MgAl₂O₄) acted as nuclei for the precipitation of BaAl₂O₄. The apparent activation energy of initial devitrified crystallization decreased from 314.16 KJ/mol (original slag) to 297.32 KJ/mol (5 wt% Al₂O₃ added) and 269.46 KJ/mol (10 wt% Al₂O₃ added). The crystallization ratio of the films also increased after adding extra Al₂O₃.

As an essential synthetic material used in the continuous casting of steels, mold fluxes improve the surface quality of steel slabs. In this study, a CaO-SiO₂-Na₂O-based low-fluorine mold flux was solidified by an improved water-cooled copper probe with different temperatures of molten flux and different probe immersion times. The heat flux through solid films and the film structures were calculated and inspected, respectively. Internal cracks (formed in the glassy layer of films during solidification) were observed. The formation and evolution of those cracks contributed to the unstable heat flux density. The roughness of the surface in contact with the water-cooled copper probe formed as films were still glassy and the roughness had no causal relationship with crystallization or devitrification. Combeite with columnar and faceted dendritic shapes were the main crystal in the film.

In this study, novel slags with a high basicity index were used to refine silicon melts with carbon dioxide injection to effectively remove Ti from metallurgical-grade silicon. Different compositions of the initial slag were used, and silicon samples were obtained during the refining. The results indicate that the Ti-removal rate initially increased with an increase in the basicity index, and it decreased after the basicity index exceeded 1.4. During the refining, silicon emulsification was observed at the slag–silicon interface, which was restricted by the increased basicity index of slags. Impurities that were concentrated in silicon droplets near the slag–silicon interfaces were oxidized, wetted by slags, and transferred to the slag phase. After 15 min of refining, up to 59 wt% of Ti in silicon could be removed and the Ti-concentrating phase in the slag contained 2.05 wt% of Ti. The results of this study provide a reference for low-cost Ti removal from metallurgical-grade silicon using a refining method.

In this study, two typical commercially used CaO-SiO₂-CaF₂-based mold fluxes with different basicities were adopted. Solid slag films of the two mold fluxes were obtained by immersing an improved water-cooled copper probe in the molten fluxes for different probe immersion times and molten slag temperatures. The film thickness, closed porosity, and roughness of the film surfaces in contact with the copper probe were measured. The heat flux through the solidified films and the comprehensive thermal conductivity of the films were both calculated. The results indicated that compared with the heat flux through high-basicity films, the heat flux through low-basicity films exhibited high fluctuation due to the evolution of fusion cracks within the glass layer. High-basicity mold fluxes resulted in higher thickness, growth velocity, surface roughness, and devitrification velocity of the films. With the growth and crystallization of the slag films, the comprehensive thermal conductivity of the high-basicity films increased significantly. For the low-basicity films, their comprehensive thermal conductivity first decreased and then increased after the solidification time exceeded 30 s. The comprehensive thermal conductivity of the high- and low-basicity films ranged from 0.63 to 0.91 and 0.62 to 0.81 W/(m·K), respectively. The results provide a novel method for analyzing the potential effect of the structural factors of slag films on heat transfer control and controlling the heat transfer behavior of slag films.