Characterization of Oxide + TiN Inclusions in Fe-16 Mass Pct Cr Ferritic Alloy Using Automatic SEM-EDS Analysis

The assessment of automatic SEM-EDS results is significant to reveal the possible inaccuracy of the results and the limitation of this characterization technique in analyzing inclusions. In current research, the oxide + TiN inclusion in Fe-16 mass pct Cr ferritic alloy is characterized by emphasizing the effects of Mg addition and N content on the composition, morphology, homogeneity of dispersion, and size distribution of inclusions; the assessment of automatic SEM-EDS results in rapid analysis concerning its limitation and the utilization of its advantage to clarify the formation mechanism of inclusions are conducted. The nature of inclusions is revealed. Mg addition makes the number density of inclusions larger and the size of inclusions finer. The effect of N content on the size of oxde + TiN was not obvious. Automatic SEM-EDS analysis is deficient in detecting light elements and low content elements in the inclusions and distinguishing between TiN and oxide + TiN. Optimizing the experimental design and combining automatic SEM-EDS results with manual SEM-EDS and optical microscopy results can contribute to delivering accurate and speedy results.