On the fabrication of steel-wire-reinforced white cast irons

White cast irons reinforced by steel wires exhibit much higher toughness than do unreinforced white cast irons. However, one of the problems encountered during the fabrication process is the melting of steel wires. On the basis of the observed microstructures of different kinds of steel-iron interface and the assumption of diffusion-controlled melting, a model was developed in this work to predict the melting behavior of the steel wires during the fabrication process. The derived model written as dR2 = d2 − 4D(1 − q02)/T0tm was confirmed by experimental measurements. Thus the selection of steel wires with respect to the soaking time of the wire or the wall thickness of the intended castings can be approximately estimated.