A novel laboratory technique for introducing inclusion to liquid steel
Previous studies in steel cleanness have been hampered by limited control of inclusions’ phase and composition. This limited control is often a result of studying inclusion formation and development using industrial steel melts and the inclusions therein as starting material. This is an extremely complex situation and not always readily amenable to analysis. A new experimental laboratory technique has been developed that allows addition of inclusions of known, size, phase and composition to be added to liquid steel. These inclusions can then be tracked and changes in morphology with time can be assessed for different melt conditions. The technique involves the formation of a steel-oxide compact, where high-purity inclusions are sandwiched in steel foil at high pressure. This compact is added to a steel melt of controlled and known composition. The use of this sandwiching technique overcomes problems of passing small particles (inclusions <50 μm) through the gas-melt interface and inclusion agglomeration. Details of the technique are presented and discussed and results applying this new technique in a reactivity study using cerium oxide as a synthetic inclusion in steel are given.
Inclusion Modification by Calcium Treatment
A major objective of calcium treatment in steelmaking is to improve product performance through inclusion modification. To establish inclusion modification, shape and composition of inclusions were monitored using SEM during and after addition of calcium wire into 2 kg heats of steel under various conditions of Ca consumption and Ca addition pattern. A mathematical model of the kinetics considering the evaporation of calcium and the reaction between inclusions and melt was developed to thoroughly examine these phenomena in calcium treatment. The calculated results were compared with the observed ones which were obtained in experiments.(1) Shape and composition of inclusions changed from a spherical SiO2-MnO system to almost lumpy Al2O3 with the addition of aluminum, and to spherical CaO-Al2O3 including CaS after addition of CaSi.(2) The process and consumption of calcium were found to affect the change of CaO and CaS contents of inclusions.(3) A mathematical model was developed assuming that vaporization rate of calcium from the melt and rate of reaction between melt and inclusions can be described by equations of the first order reaction, and that the size and number of inclusions remain constant during treatment.(4) The calculated [Ca] and CaO, CaS contents of inclusions showed good agreement with observed ones regardless of the conditions of CaSi addition.
Dopamine Release is Involved in Antinociceptive Effect of Theophylline
ABSTRACT The methylxanthines, e.g., theophylline, are widely used for the treatment of bronchial asthma. Additionally, a pain relieving effect of theophylline has been reported in patients as well as in experimental animals. The mechanism of this antinociceptive action is not clear. In this study, involvement of dopaminergic system in theophylline-induced antinociception was evaluated using tail flick test model. Swiss albino mice, (either sex, weighing 25–30 g) with base line tail flick latencies (TFL) between 2.0 and 3.5 s, were used. TFL was recorded before and at intervals of 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. after drug treatment. The experimental protocol was duly approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. To determine the role of dopaminergic system, the mice were pretreated with either D1 or D2 dopaminergic receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and haloperidol, respectively, prior to treatment with theophylline. Another group of animals received apomorphine along with theophylline. The dose of theophylline used, i.e., 10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.), had shown a significant increase in TFLs. The theophylline-induced antinociception, 10 mg/kg, i.p., was reversed by pretreatment with both D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and haloperidol as well as with apomorphine (1 mg/kg) pretreatment. The results suggest that theophylline-induced antinociception is due to release of dopamine.