Jia Guangru,Zhou Xinran,Tang Zhifeng,et al.Effect of Ce and Y Modification on the Inclusion Characteristics in 34CrNi3Mo Steel[J].Special Steel,2026,47(04):34-41.
Jia Guangru,Zhou Xinran,Tang Zhifeng,et al.Effect of Ce and Y Modification on the Inclusion Characteristics in 34CrNi3Mo Steel[J].Special Steel,2026,47(04):34-41.DOI:.
Effect of Ce and Y Modification on the Inclusion Characteristics in 34CrNi3Mo Steel
34CrNi3Mo steel is widely used in aerospace and high-end equipment, and its service reliability is closely related to the type, size, and distribution of non-metallic inclusions. To clarify the influence of different rare-earth elements on the evolution behavior of inclusions in this steel, experimental heats with various additions (
w
[Ce]0.000 5%-0.002 0% and
w
[Y]0.000 3%-0.003 4% ) were produced in a 30 kg vacuum induction furnace, and the morphology, composition, number density, and size distribution of inclusions were systematically characterized using SEM–EDS and an Aspex system. The results show that inclusions in the base steel are mainly complex oxides and MnS, accompanied by a certain amount of Al₂O₃ and TiN. After the addition of Ce, inclusions are dominated by CeAlO
3
-type rare-earth aluminates, and a small amount of rare-earth oxysulfides and sulfides gradually forms; after the addition of Y, with increasing Y content, the fraction of rare-earth aluminates decreases, while oxy-sulfide complex inclusions su
ch as Y₂O₂S and Y₂S₃ gradually increase. Small additions of Ce and Y can significantly refine inclusions, so that their sizes are mainly concentrated in the range of 0.5 μm–2 μm; compared with the base steel (average size is 1.36 μm, number density is about 108 mm⁻²), both the average size and number density of inclusions are markedly reduced. Low-level rare-earth additions strongly suppress the formation of Al₂O₃ and TiN inclusions; however, the fraction of MnS inclusions exhibits a fluctuating trend of first increasing and then decreasing with increasing rare-earth content, indicating that the suppression of MnS formation is limited. Ce and Y play similar roles in refining inclusions and reducing their number density, but show pronounced differences in the types of modified inclusion products, and the results provide a theoretical basis for the selection and optimization of rare-earth additions in 34CrNi3Mo steel.
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