Association of atomic clusters and free volume with the viscosity of Fe-C melts

SC Gao and KX Jiao and JL Zhang and XY Fan and YB Zong, CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS, 806, 139983 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2022.139983

A comprehensive investigation on liquid structure and viscosity of Fe-C melts were performed. The result shows that there is actually a medium- range ordered cluster structure in molten iron, which is unstable and will change due to the existence of free volume. Carbon atoms exist in an ordered structure inside the melt, while iron atoms have three coordination states. The reduction of carbon content and the increase of temperature contribute to a low viscosity of molten iron. Meanwhile, the number and size of clusters in the Fe-C melt increase accordingly, but the mechanisms affected by temperature and composition are different.

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