Papers by Keyword: Cast Iron

Abstract: Residual stresses in ferritic ductile iron castings have been studied for decades. However, little attention has traditionally been given to the local residual stresses which may arise in the microstructure as a result of the thermal contraction mismatch between the matrix and the graphite nodules during solid-state cooling. Recent synchrotron X-ray measurements performed by the authors have demonstrated that in the ferritic phase these local stresses can be in the order of 100-150 MPa, hence of the same order of magnitude as the material macroscopic yield stress. This suggests that they might have a significant influence on the mechanical properties of ductile iron components. However, no systematic research appears to have been conducted so far to investigate this aspect. The present work takes a first step in this direction by presenting an integrated theoretical analysis which addresses both the formation of these local residual stresses at the microscopic level and their role during mechanical loading at the macro-scale.

Abstract: A better understanding of spheroidal graphite growth is expected in a near future thanks to widespread use of transmission electron microscopy. However, common transmission electron microscopy is quite time consuming and new indexing techniques are being developed, among them is transmission Kikuchi diffraction in a scanning electron microscope, a recent technique derived from electron backscatter diffraction. In the present work, on-axis transmission Kikuchi diffraction in scanning electron microscope, completed by transmission electron microscopy, was used with the objective of producing new observations on the microstructure of spheroidal graphite. This study shows that disorientations between blocks and sectors in spheroidal graphite are quite large in the early growth stage, which may be indicative of a competition process selecting the best orientations for achieving radial growth along the c direction of graphite.

Abstract: In this paper, we aim at characterizing three different cast iron alloys and their microstructural features, namely lamellar, compacted and nodular graphite iron. The characterization of microscopic features is essential for the development of methods to optimize the behavior of cast iron alloys; e.g. maximize thermal dissipation and/or maximize ductility while maintaining strength. The variation of these properties is commonly analyzed by metallography on two-dimensional representations of the alloy. However, more precise estimates of the morphologies and material characteristics is obtained by three-dimensional reconstruction of microstructures. The use of X-ray microtomography provides an excellent tool to generate high resolution three-dimensional microstructure images. The characteristics of the graphite constituent in the microstructure, including the size, shape and connectivity, were analyzed for the different cast iron alloys. It was observed that the lamellar and compacted graphite iron alloys have relatively large connected graphite morphologies, as opposed to ductile iron where the graphite is present as nodules. The results of the characterization for the different alloys were ultimately used to generate finite element models.

Abstract: Due to high content of carbon and poor weldability, the ultrasonic frequency induction cladding technique was utilized to fabricate Ni-based alloy coating on the substrate of gray cast irons. In order to investigate the microstructure and properties of Ni-based alloy coating, the techniques of optical microscopy (OM), backscattered electron image (BEI), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Vickers microhardness tester were employed. And then the immersion test and potentiodynamic polarization measurement were performed to evaluate the corrosion behavior of Ni-based alloy coating. The experimental results reveal that the coating bonds metallurgically with the substrate. Due to the elemental interdiffusion between the coating and the substrate, a solid solution zone of coating is formed. The phases of γ-Ni, Ni3B, NiSi, chromium borides and carbides can be distinguished in the coating. Chromium borides and carbides are benefit for the improvement of hardness and NiSi provides good corrosion resistance.

Abstract: This study aims to assess the solidification shrinkage and expansion during the solidification of cast irons. The solidification shrinkage and expansion in cast irons are due to the formation of austenite and graphite respectively. In this study, the linear displacement method was used to observe the solidification event combined with the cooling curve analysis. It was found that the cooling and displacement curves show good correlations in time of events during solidification. The displacement due to graphite expansion increased with the carbon equivalent. The linear expansion of 0.2 to 1.9 mm was observed for the carbon equivalents ranged from 3.7 to 4.5. On the other hand, the displacement due to the austenite shrinkage was found to decrease with increasing carbon equivalents.

Abstract: High-temperature heat shock is caused by pouring a liquid alloy (cast iron in this case) into cavity of a wet sand mould. In the mould material, thermal-chemical-physical phenomena of very high intensity occur. These phenomena are important in metal alloys casting only insofar as they influence quality of a casting (dynamics od solidification and casting’s structure, gas and shrinkage defects). This quality can be forecasted using simulation codes dedicated for the foundry branch. The most important phenomena are subject of hard and/or soft modeling. Heat transfer from a casting to a mould is related to simultaneous mass transfer. This coupling of phenomena is differently interpreted by creators of simulation codes and introduced to algorithms solved numerically. The paper presents an example of simplified modeling of phenomena of thermal influence of a wet mould sand on solidification of a test cast iron casting, with use of selected foundry simulation codes.

Abstract: Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron evaluated in previous works exhibited promising potential as semisolid raw material presenting low levels of maximum stress and viscosity, similar to Al-Si alloys. This work is intended to investigate phase transformations and liquid phase formation for the Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron in order to understand the performance of the alloy during the semisolid processing. Thus in situ heating experiments via high temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy were performed to analyze the solid-to-liquid transition. At room temperature alloy presented a matrix of pearlite and ferrite with type D flake graphite. During the heating process the main transformations observed were graphite precipitation on the austenite grain boundaries, graphite precipitates and flakes graphite growing and coarsening with the increasing of temperature and the beginning of melt around 1140°C. Coarsened flakes at high temperatures resulted in a liquid continuous network after melting, thereby the liquid phase was formed surrounding and wetting homogeneously the solid phase. This favors the detachment of grains from each other and leads to the intended solid globules immersed in liquid.

Abstract: The cooling curve and its derivatives display patterns that can be used to predict the characteristics of a cast iron. The effects of melting, superheating and holding in an acid lined coreless induction furnace were explored, as they affect the role of preconditioning and / or inoculation to restore solidification with low eutectic undercooling. Increased chill (iron carbides amount) in the experimental irons correlates well with certain thermal analysis parameters, such as the degree of eutectic undercooling. Preconditioning of the molten base iron before tapping led to improved solidification parameters in both untreated and inoculated irons as measured by the most significant thermal analysis cooling curve events. A double treatment incorporating preconditioning with inoculation improved the thermal analysis parameters, and consequently, the quality of the cast iron. If standard Ca-FeSi alloys do not have sufficient inoculation potential, the addition of the inoculant enhancing alloy (S, O and oxy-sulphides forming elements) will greatly enhance inoculation, well illustrated by changes to the thermal analysis parameters. A newly defined Inoculation Specific Factor [inoculation effect / inoculant consumption which led to that beneficial effect ratio] of different alloys is illustrated by thermal analysis, with good correlation with microstructural characteristics.

Abstract: The problem described in the paper concerns the thermo-physical properties of the green mould material to which the cast iron is most often poured. The study includes the experiment of pouring the cast iron plate into green bentonite-sand mould. The temperature fields of casting and in different zones of the mould were recorded. The goal of the study was to determine the substitute thermo-physical properties of mould sand containing the over-moisture zone by means of simulation tests (inverse problem). An originality of the related research is an attempt to take into account the effects of the global thermal phenomena occurring in the quartz sand bonded by bentonite-water binder, by application of the substitute thermal coefficients without using the coupled modeling. In the simulation tests in order to achieve the effect of rapid heating of the mould (below temperatures 100 °C) by poured cast iron (T>1300 °C), the function of the latent heat source and the modified values of substitute thermal conductivity and substitute specific heat of the molding sand were used. In order to facilitate the solution, the mould was divided into zones, in which different starting humidity of molding sand was assumed.

Abstract: A new cast iron material with a higher Cr content than usual is analyzed by chemical, micro-structural and friction coefficient point of view. The material was obtained by classical melting and the results compared with the experimental results obtained from a standard cast-iron used for applicative disk brake. Four different mechanical solicitation rates were used on the same material surface and the same load. The solicitation regime can be considered as semi-liquid and similar to a raining day experimental conditions. In this paper no thermal considerations were present or discussed. The results present a bigger friction coefficient of the new material and further considerations are necessary for example in a different friction regime.