Abstract: By using of electrolytic pure iron, the specimens containing different oxide content were made in a Mo wire furnace. The DTA method was employed to measure the undercooling of liquid iron during solidification. The relations between the cleanness of liquid iron and undercooling, thermodynamic driving force of nucleation, the nucleus forming energy, as well as the critical radius of nucleus have been investigated. The results showed that with the increase of cleanness of liquid iron the undercooling and thermodynamic driving force increased, while the nucleus forming energy and critical radius of nucleus decreased.

Key words: pure iron, cleanness, undercooling,