Characterization of Synthetic Non-Metallic Inclusions Consisting of TiN, Ti2O3, and Oxides of Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 Spinel Using Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Steel quality and properties can be affected by the formation of complex inclusions, including Ti-based inclusions such as TiN and Ti2O3 and oxides like Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 (MA). This study assessed the prospective use of Raman spectroscopy to characterize synthetic binary inclusion samples of TiN–Al2O3, TiN–MA, Ti2O3–MA, and Ti2O3–Al2O3 with varying phase fractions. The relative intensities of the Raman peaks were used for qualitative evaluation and linear regression calibration models were used for the quantitative prediction of individual phases. The model performance was evaluated with root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). For the raw Raman spectra data, R2 values were between 0.48–0.98, the RMSECV values varied between 3.26–14.60 wt%, and the RMSEP ranged between 2.98–15.01 wt% for estimating the phases. The SNV Raman spectra data had estimated R2 values within 0.94–0.99 and RMSECV and RMSEP values ranged between 2.50–3.26 wt% and 2.80–9.01 wt%, respectively, showing improved model performance. The study shows that the specific phases of TiN, Al2O3, MA, and Ti2O3 in synthetic inclusion mixtures of TiN–(Al2O3 or MA) and Ti2O3–(Al2O3 or MA) could be characterized by the Raman spectroscopy.