This article focuses on the cooling process and related transformation behavior of steel wires during patenting to identify a physical metallurgical basis for the development of nontoxic alternatives to molten lead for wire patenting. It describes the materials required, the procedures, and the results of cooling curve analysis. The article schematically summarizes the cooling behaviors of the various cooling media and the microstructure of the pearlite transformation in a lead bath.

This article, with the aid of illustrations and curves, describes an experiment used to understand the cooling characteristics and transformation behavior of steel wires during patenting. The two aqueous polymer quenchants used as alternatives for lead baths, are carboxymethyl cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol. A small amount of polymer additive in spraying could modify the physical properties of the spray medium and improve atomizing status. The concentration-fog flux effect further improves the flexibility of spraying and makes it easier to control the cooling process.