How does metallurgical pure calcium wire work in steelmaking?
Metallurgical pure calcium wire plays a vital role in the steelmaking process, especially in steel refining and deoxidation, desulfurization, and in controlling inclusions. As a convenient metallurgical additive, calcium wire is widely used in modern steel production, which can significantly improve the quality and performance of steel. The following will discuss in detail the specific role of metallurgical pure calcium wire in steelmaking and its working principle.
We also can supply other alloy core wire as following.
| Alloy Cored Wire Type | Diameter | Filling rate | Specification |
| CaSi Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm/16mm | 120/225/330 | Ca:30%min Si:55%min Al:1.5%max S:0.06%max C:1.0%max Fe:4%max P:0.05%max |
| CaFe Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm/16mm | 140/260/360 | Ca:30%min Fe:68%min Al:0.8%max |
| C Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm/16mm | 55/140/210 | C:98.5%min Ash:0.45%max V:0.4%max S:0.5%max H2O:0.3%max P:0.2%max |
| Pure Ca Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 58/155 | Ca:98.5%min Mg:0.5%max Al:0.5%max |
| Solid Ca Cored Wire | 9mm/10mm | 9mm/10mm | Ca:98.5%min Mg:0.5%max Al:0.5%max |
| FeS Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 220/370 | S:48%min Pb:0.1%max Zn:0.1%max As:0.1%max Fe:43%-45% Cu:0.05%max Moisture:0.5%max SiO2:2.5%max |
| CaAlFe Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 130/230 | Ca:40% Fe:30% Al:30% |
| Pure Mg Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 80/170 | Mg:99%min |
| SiBaCa Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 110/260 | Si:40%-50% Ba:10%-20% Ca:20%-30% |
| FeSi Cored Wire | 9mm/13mm | 150/350 | Si:75%min Fe:Balance |
1. Deoxidizing effect
In the steelmaking process, a certain amount of oxygen will inevitably exist in the steel water, and these oxygen elements will combine with other elements in the steel (such as iron, silicon, manganese, etc.) to form oxidized inclusions, which will affect the purity and mechanical properties of steel. The calcium element in the metallurgical pure calcium wire has the ability to deoxidize and can react with the oxygen in the steel water to produce stable calcium oxide (CaO). Calcium oxide is a high melting point compound, can quickly float to the surface of the steel, the formation of slag, thus effectively reducing the oxygen content in the steel, improve the purity of steel.
2. Desulfurization
Sulfur is one of the harmful elements in steel, excessive sulfur content will lead to an increase in the brittleness of steel, especially at low temperatures, prone to cold embrittlement. The calcium element in the metallurgical pure calcium wire can react with the sulfur in the steel water to produce calcium sulfide (CaS). Calcium sulfide is a stable compound that can precipitate out of the molten steel and enter the slag, thus effectively reducing the sulfur content in the molten steel. By adding calcium wires, the sulfur content in steel can be controlled at a low level, which significantly improves the toughness and processability of steel.
