Fabrication of plain carbon steel/high chromium white cast iron bimetal by a liquid–solid composite casting process

High-chromium white cast iron (HCWCI) is one of the most widely used engineering materials in the mining and cement industries. However, in some components, such as the pulverizer plates of ash mills, the poor machinability of HCWCI creates difficulties. The bimetal casting technique is a suitable method for improving the machinability of HCWCI by joining an easily machined layer of plain carbon steel (PCS) to its hard part. In this study, the possibility of PCS/HCWCI bimetal casting was investigated using sand casting. The investigation was conducted by optical and electron microscopy and non-destructive, impact toughness, and tensile tests. The hardness and chemical composition profiles on both sides of the interface were plotted in this study. The results indicated that a conventional and low-cost casting technique could be a reliable method for producing PCS/HCWCI bimetal. The interfacial microstructure comprised two distinct layers: a very fine, partially spheroidized pearlite layer and a coarse full pearlite layer. Moreover, characterization of the microstructure revealed that the interface was free of defects.