2. Cast iron solidification

Germination and solid growth are the two phenomena involved in solidification. In the case of cast iron, solidification depends on a number of parameters: the presence of sprouts and the cooling rate of the liquid, the composition of the liquid, the simultaneous formation of several solid phases, etc. Sprouts and cooling rate are the most important parameters. Germs and cooling rate are the most important parameters. Alloys composed mainly of iron and carbon can also approach a metastable equilibrium with the formation of Fe3C carbide (figure 8 ) or a stable equilibrium with the precipitation of graphite (figure