“Thixomet” JSC, St. Petersburg, Russia:

A. A. Kazakov, Dr. Eng., Prof., Head of “Metallurgical Examination” Lab., e-mail: kazakov@thixomet.ru
D. V. Kiselev, Technical Director, “Metallurgical Examination” Lab.

JSC Vyksa Steel Works, Vyksa, Russia:

V. A. Murysev, Chief Specialist of the Engineering and Technology Center

The technique of processing the results of factory experts’ reports has been developed to interpret the origin of nonmetallic inclusions (NMIs) detected in the defects of a welded pipe joints made of J55 API 5L (22GYu) steel. Thermodynamic simulation was performed to assess the possibility of the indigenous origin of these inclusions. The results of such a simulation were summarized using radar diagrams of four clusters uniting NMIs with similar composition of deoxidation and modification products. More than 130 compositions of actual inclusions detected on dozens of welded joints samples were processed and combined into four clusters in the same way. After a comparative analysis of these two types of radar diagrams, the origin of all clusters of actual inclusions was established, three of which are predominantly exogenous inclusions and the fourth is predominantly indigenous. None of the clusters contains only indigenous inclusions or only exogenous ones. The main source of inclusions in the discontinuities of welded joints is inclusions conglomerates, sorbed on the refractories surface, contacted with molten steel during its ladle treatment and pouring. These sintered conglomerates of indigenous and exogenous inclusions, that form three clusters of four ones, were out washed by the flow of steel melt into the crystallizer during steel pouring. The reasons for the formation of the fourth cluster are related to “cold welding”. The technique is implemented as a plug-in of Thixomet Pro image analysis system and allows to automate the process of metallographic conclusions generation in factory practice, as well as to accumulate all information in a database for its subsequent processing and analysis.

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