Vanadium is a strong carbide and nitride forming element where the hardness of these compounds is the basis for a range of tool and die steels; both cold working and high-speed steels. The largest use of Vanadium today however is in the production of High Strength Low Alloy Steels (HSLA steels), also known as Micro alloyed steels, where the strengthening effect of Vanadium carbides are used to increase the tensile strength and toughness of long products.
Pure Vanadium metal has a melting point of 1910°C. This makes it very difficult to dissolve in iron and steel melts, therefore the major form of Vanadium in the iron and steel industry is Ferro-Vanadium with a composition of roughly 80% V. This decreases the melting point to around 1480°C making it easier to dissolve in the melt.
Vanadium strengthens HSLA steels primarily due to the high temperature stability of the Vanadium carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides that are formed. This is a very effective grain growth inhibitor allowing for fine grained steels to be produced using multiple hot rolling steps. This has an added benefit as due to the higher rolling temperatures that can be employed the load on the mill is decreased meaning thinner gauges can be produced and, in some cases, productivity is improved.
Another relatively recent use of Vanadium is in Nitrogen stabilized austenitic stainless steels, where the addition of Vanadium increases the solubility of Nitrogen in steels without causing porosity defects.
Mineral-Loy is an established supplier of high quality Ferro Vanadium offering a range of packaging options. Please contact us so that we can assist with your FeV requirements.