Metallic Inclusions in Steel

Examples of metallic inclusions in steels of various types are presented. The structure of an inclusion in an annealed Fe-1C-1.5Cr steel consisted of ferrite with lamellar pearlite. The carbon content of the inclusion was therefore considerably lower than that of the chromium steel and was adapted to the latter by diffusion only at the periphery of the inclusion. In another section of a hardened piece of the same chromium steel, the steel in this case had a structure of martensite with hypereutectic carbide, while the inclusions consisted of a very fine laminated eutectoid of the lower pearlite range (Troostite). In a pipe of 18-8 austenitic stainless steel a weakly magnetizable spot of limited size was found. This inclusion too was probably more alloy-deficient than the austenitic steel, similar to the ones described above. All three cases were casting defects.