한국주조공학회

This study describes the influence of the trace amount of sulphur on the nucleation behavior of graphite crystals in high purity Fe-C-Si alloys prepared by levitation melting method. Detailed microstructural analyses of high purity(HP) and sulphur added(HP＋S) samples showed that the nucleation of graphite crystals was prevented by sulphur. With decreasing the sulphur content, the shape of graphite crystals tended to spherulitic, and below 2ppm S, that of graphite crystals was only nodular. The critical cooling rate for the nucleation of griphite crystals was calculated as 1.5X10^3k/s. It is obvious from this work that residual C-C clusters act as an effective nucleation site for graphite crystals and one of the important role of nodularizing elements is to act as scavenger which removes harmful impurities from the solution.