A Study on the Melting Morphology of Graphite in Cast Iron

Many authors have studied the solidification process of cast iron and the effect of grain boundaries in austenite shell on the growth of spheroidal graphite. But, the studies on the melting morphology of cast iron are rare and the effect of grain boundaries in austenite shell on the melting procedure of spheroidal graphite cast iron is unknown. Therefore, in this work, the melting procedure of cast iron and the role of grain boundaries in austenite shell on the melting of spheroidal graphite have been studied. The main results are summarized as follows. 1. In white cast iron containing silicon, melting initiates at the interface between austenite matrix and temper carbon which was decomposed from $Fe_3C$ during heating. 2. In gray cast iron, melting initiates at the boundary of eutectic cell where elements with low melting temperature are condensed. The dissolution of kish graphite is difficult. 3. In spheroidal graphite cast iron containing little phosphor, melting initiates at the outer region of austenite shell in which silicon is condensed. In this case, grain boundaries in austenite shell give little effect on the melting procedure of spheroidal graphite. 4. In spheroidal graphite cast iron containing phosphor above 0.3 wt%, its melting phenomena are changed with heating rate due to the existence of steadite. In this case, it can be concluded that liquid phase of steadite, which segregated on outer region of austenite shell, moves to spheroidal graphite-austenite interface along the grain boundaries in austenite shell.