Effect of Temperature on Scale Morphology of Fe-1.5Si Alloy Original Research Article

Because of the effect of silicon on the formation of oxide scale, red scale is the main surface defect of hot-rolled Fe-Si plate, making the scale difficult for descaling compared with carbon steel. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) is used to simulate isothermal oxidation process of Fe-1.5Si alloy for 60 min under air condition, and the temperature range is from 700 to 1200 °C. Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) is used to observe cross-sectional scale morphology and analyze elemental distribution of the scale. Relational graph of temperature, scale thickness and scale structure is obtained. It is found that scale structure (outer Fe oxide layer+inner FeO/Fe2SiO4 layer+internal Si oxide precipitates) is almost unchanged with temperature except at 1000 and 1200 °C. At 1000 °C internal Si oxide precipitates cannot be found at the subsurface of the alloy, and at 1200 °C FeO/Fe2 SiO4 not only forms a layer as usual but also penetrates into the outer Fe oxide layer deeply.