Cementite Spheroidization of Drawn Wire during Isothermal Treatment

Lamellar cementite will be spheroidized in drawn pearlitic steel wire during galvanization process. To understand the evolution of the microstructure in this process, effects of isothermal time on microstructure of drawn pearlitic steel wires were investigated by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and DSC Technique. Experimental results showed that the lamellar cementite would transform to spheroidized cementite during the isothermal treatment. During the heating process, no endothermic or exothermic peak existed in pearlitic strand, while an obvious exothermic peak appeared in cold drawn pearlitic wire at about 380°C. It results from the spheroidization of lamellar cementite. The dislocation density was very low in pearlitic strand, but the dislocation density increased shapely after drawing. During the isothermal treatment at 450°C, the high dislocation density zone disappeared and some cementite became spheroidized. The cementite spheroidization phenomena first began at the boundary of pearlitic blocks or grains, and then in the high dislocation density zone in pearlitic blocks.