The Solidification Kinetics of Cast Iron using an Improved Thermal Analysis Technique

Abstract

In this work, a new method of thermal analysis called the Fourier analysis is presented. The proposed method avoids the introduction of any arbitrary assumptions on the relative shape of the base line. The Fourier analysis is based on measurements of the temperature fields of the liquid metal during solidification. Furthermore, this method is compared with the Newtonian analysis which assumes an exponential shape for the base line. It is found that the predictions of these methods differ greatly in predicting cooling rates and volume fractions of solidified phases. Comparisons of predictions of the Fourier method in cast iron of eutectic and hypoeutectic composition are in good agreement with experimentally determined cooling curves and heat- generated curves.