Abstract
Observing and analyzing the microstructure of zone samples had been an essential concept in the study of co-fusion steelmaking. High-temperature confocal laser scanning microscope (HT-CLSM) provided a new method in the in-situ observation and real-time analysis of the co-fusion steelmaking process. In this research, a series of experiments had been designed based on Shen Kuo’s The Dream Pool Essays (a famous ancient Chinese literature) and carried out by HT-CLSM. The results showed that a new interface was formed with the phase transition during the heating process, which had an essential influence on promoting the carbon diffusion rate in co-fusion steelmaking. The cast iron zone occurred in mushy solidification because of decarbonization. There were collision, aggregation, and other behaviors of inclusions in the cast iron zone and they moved towards the boundary, which led to the purity of the matrix and the aggregation of a large number of inclusions at the boundary.
Highlights
Observing and analyzing the microstructure of zone samples had been an essential concept in the study of co-fusion steelmaking
The solid–liquid interface was formed between the zones, which reduced the free energy of the whole system[30], and increased the diffusion rate of carbon atoms from the cast iron zone to the wrought iron zone
It could be seen that during the heating process, a new interface had been formed between the zones with the phase transformation, which had a significant influence on improving the carbon diffusion rate in co-fusion
Summary
Connection of different materials[22,23,24,25]. the in-situ observation and research of ancient Chinese iron and steel materials have not been reported yet. The in-situ observation and analysis of the simulated co-fusion samples during the heating process revealed that when the temperature was lower than the fusing point of cast iron, the solid–gas–solid interface was formed. From the perspective of microstructures, the in-situ observation results of the co-fusion sample showed that there was a new interface between the zones, which significantly promoted the carbon diffusion rate. The simulation experiment results showed that the inclusions tend to move towards the boundary after aggregation due to fusion and decarburization of the cast iron zone, while the matrix was quite pure; this phenomenon was not observed in the wrought iron zone. This phenomenon could be seen in both archaeological artifacts and simulation experiment samples
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