Identification of Defect Prone Peritectic Steel Grades by Analyzing High-Temperature Phase Transformations

Continuous casting of peritectic steels is often difficult and critical; bad surface quality, cracks, and even breakouts may occur. The initial solidification of peritectic steels within the mold leads to formation of surface depressions and uneven shell growth. As commercial steels are always multicomponent alloys, the influence also of the alloying elements besides carbon on the peritectic phase transition needs to be taken into account. Information on the solidification sequence and phase diagrams for initial solidification are lacking especially for new steel grades, like high-alloyed TRIP-steels with high Mn, Si, and particularly high Al contents. Based on a comprehensive method development, the current study shows that differential scanning calorimeter measurements allow a clear prediction if an alloy is peritectic (i.e., critical to cast). In order to confirm these results, thermo-optical analyses with a high-temperature laser-scanning-confocal-microscope are performed to observe the phase transformations in situ up to the melting point.