Effect of austempering parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of horizontal continuous casting ductile iron dense bars

In the present research, the orthogonal experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of different austempering process parameters(i.e. austenitizing temperature and time, and austempering temperature and time) on microstructure and mechanical properties of LZQT500-7 ductile iron dense bars with 172 mm in diameter which were produced by horizontal continuous casting(HCC). The results show that the major factors influencing the hardness of austempered ductile iron(ADI) are austenitizing temperature and austempering temperature. The fraction of retained austenite increases as the austenitizing and austempering temperatures increase. When austenitizing temperature is low, acicular ferrite and retained austenite can be effi ciently obtained by appropriately extending the austenitizing time. The proper austmepering time could ensure enough stability of retained austenite and prevent high carbon austenite decomposition. The optimal mechanical properties of ADI can be achieved with the following process parameters: austenitizing temperature and time are 866 °C and 135 min, and austempering temperature and time are 279 °C and 135 min, respectively. The microstructure of ADI under the optimal austempering process consists of fi ne acicular ferrite and a small amount of retained austenite, and the hardness, tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and impact toughness of the bars are HBW 476, 1670 MPa, 1428 MPa, 2.93% and 25.7 J, respectively.

Production of carbide-free thin ductile iron castings

The fast cooling rate of thin ductile iron castings requires special consideration to produce carbide-free castings. Extraordinary care was taken to select the charge to produce castings of 100-mm long round bars with 16-mm diameter. The castings show the presence of carbides in the bars. Seven melts were made with different temperatures and with different compositions to get rid of carbides. After chemical analyses,it was found that the extra purity of the charge with less than 0.008wt% sulfur in the castings was the cause of carbides. To remove the carbides from the castings,sulfur should be added to the charge.

Performance of heavy ductile iron castings for windmills

The main objective of the present paper is to review the specific characteristics and performance obtaining conditions of heavy ductile iron(DI) castings,typically applied in windmills industry,such as hubs and rotor housings.The requirements for high impact properties in DI at low temperatures are part of the ENGJS-400-18U-LT(SRN 1563) commonly referred to as GGG 40.3(DIN 1693).Pearlitic in-uence factor(Px) and antinodularising action factor(K1) were found to have an important in-uence on the structure and mechanical properties,as did Mn and P content,rare earth(RE) addition and inoculation power.The presence of high purity pig iron in the charge is extremely beneficial,not only to control the complex factors Px and K1,but also to improve the 'metallurgical quality' of the iron melt.A correlation of C and Si limits with section modulus is very important to limit graphite nodule flotation.Chunky and surface-degenerated graphite are the most controlled graphite morphologies in windmills castings.The paper concluded on the optimum iron chemistry and melting procedure,Mg-alloys and inoculants peculiar systems,as well as on the practical solutions to limit graphite degeneration and to ensure castings of the highest integrity,typically for this field.

Microstructure and properties of ductile iron bars for plunger pump prepared by horizontal continuous casting process

Ductile iron bars(DIBs) with a diameter of 145 mm, used for plunger pump production, were made by the horizontal continuous casting(HCC). The microstructure of the samples cut at three locations with different distances away from the surface(~20 mm from the surface, half of the radius and the center of the HCCDIBs)were investigated. The mechanical properties were measured by tensile and torsion tests. Results show that after the spheroidization of graphite, the iron matrix incorporates the nodules of Format I, Size 8 close to the surface, Format I, Size 7 at the half of the radius from the surface, and Format II, Size 6 in the centre of the bar,according to the ASTM A247 standard. The content of pearlite in the matrix changes from 55%(~20 mm from the surface) to 70%(half of the radius) and 80%(the center of the HCCDIBs). The strengths in tension are 552, 607 and 486 MPa with the elongations of 12.5%, 10.5% and 5.8% in samples cut at these three locations from the surface to the centre, respectively. The strength in torsion is equal to 558, 551 and 471 MPa at corresponding torsion angles of 418°, 384° and 144° respectively to the same distance from the bar surface. Fracture in tension is manifested via crack propagation through the interface between graphite nodules and matrix(Mode I), while in torsion the fracture is caused by the shear of graphite nodules(Mode II). It is shown that the transition between two fracture modes is also dependent on the size of graphite nodule. Typically, fracture Mode I was observed for nodules of smaller diameter(less than 22.7 μm) and fracture Mode II was seen for nodules of greater diameter(more than 24.8 μm).

Foundry technology and its applications of ductile iron castings produced by water-cooled copper alloy Mold

The high efficiency mechanized foundry technology of castings produced by using water-cooled copper alloy permanent mold has been systematically studied. Through the researching a Cu-Cr-Mg alloy with high conductivity and good combined mechanical properties used for making permanent mold was developed, and the basic design principles of the water-cooled permanent mold along with the control-range of relevant foundry processing parameters were also established. A cast production line equipped with water-cooled copper alloy mold was designed and fabricated for production of ductile iron automobile gear castings, This production line can consistently make automobile gear castJngs Jn QT500-15 and QT600-5 (Chinese Standard) grades of ductile iron with up to 95% casting success rate.

Low temperature impact strength of heavy section ductile iron castings:effects of microstructure and chemical composition

A foundry research project has been recently initiated at RTIT in order to better understand the fabrication of as-cast heavy section DI parts meeting high impact energy requirements at low temperatures.The experimental castings have the following dimensions 180 mm x 180 mm x 190 mm.The achieved as-cast Charpy impact strengths were as follows:17 J (RT),16 J (-20℃) and 11 J (-40℃).The foundry process,the chemical composition and the microstructure of this experimental casting are compared to the ones of various examples in order to show the detrimental effects of residual elements,microshrinkage and microcarbide on the impact properties.Finally,quality index empirical models (based on casting chemical compositions) are used to analyse the impact tests results.This paper illustrates that an adequate nodule count can contribute to reducing the detrimental effects of the residual elements and microsegregation.

Application of 3-D numerical simulation software SRIFCAST to produce ductile iron castings

Based on a method using numerical simulation equations and their solution schemes for liquid metal flows andheat transfer during mold filling and the solidification process of casting, 3-D numerical simulation software SRIFCAST wascreated. This includes enmeshment of casting; velocity and temperature fields calculation; displaying iso-temperature lines;velocity vectors and 3-D temperature fields on a Windows 9x operating system. SRIFCAST was applied to produce soundcastings of automobile and diesel engines, and also to connect with microstructure simulation for ductile iron castings.

A Mathematical Model for Predicting Shrinkage Defect of Ductile Iron Castings

The shrinkage defect of a ductile iron casting is attributed to the volume variations occurring in solidification, which consist of liquid contraction, solidification shrinkage, graphitization expansion, and mold cavity enlargement. Based on this understanding, a mathematical model for predicting the shrinkage defect of the casting is developed, in which the volume variations of the casting in soli- dification are numerically simulated, especially, the mold cavity enlargement is quantitatively calculated. Moreover, the reliability of the model is verified in production and experiment.

Microstructural analysis of EN-GJS-450-10 ductile cast iron via vibrational casting

EN-GJS-450-10 ductile cast iron was produced with and without vibration to evaluate microstructural features. To investigate the effect of vibration, a reference, and two different castings having amplitudes of 0.9 mm and 1.8 mm were cast with a fixed vibration frequency of 50 Hz. The nodule count (density), form (type), size distribution, nodularity, and the fraction of graphite, percentages of both ferrite and pearlite phases, length of ferrite shell, and pore, were evaluated via optical microscopy using an image analysis software. It is observed that the microstructure of the cast iron is more uniform by vibrational casting than that by non-vibrational casting. Additionally, mechanical vibration enhances nodule count and nodularity, also, more ferritic matrix could be obtained after the application of vibration. Nodule count and nodularity of vibrational casting with 1.8 mm amplitude increased from 226 nodule per mm2 and 80% to 311 nodule per mm2 and 86.5% of non-vibrational casting. Percentages of ferrite and graphite area dramatically improved from 24% and 16.5% for non-vibrational casting to 57% and 22.3% for vibrational casting with 1.8 mm amplitude, whereas the percentages of pearlite and pores decreased significantly from 56.1% and 5% to 20% and 1%, respectively.

Some problems in the production of ductile irons by investment casting

Because of the excellent performance of ductile irons and the unique superiority of investment casting, thepreparation of complicated and thin-wall ductile iron castings by investment casting shows a good developmentprospect. In this present work, combined with the actual product experiments, the characteristics of shell making,spheroidization, inoculation and defect prevention are presented, and some suggestions are given for investmentcasting of ductile iron.

Effects of Alloying Elements on the Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Heavy Section Ductile Cast Iron

The effects of alloying elements on the as-cast microstructures and mechanical properties of heavy section ductile cast iron were investigated to develop press die material having high strength and high ductility. Measurements of ultimate tensile strength, 0.2% proof strength, elongation and unnotched Charpy impact energy are presented as a function of alloy amounts within 0.25 to 0.75 wt pct range. Hardness is measured on the broken tensile specimens. The small additions of Mo, Cu, Ni and Cr changed the as-cast mechanical properties owing to the different as-cast matrix microstructures. The ferrite matrix of Mo and Ni alloyed cast iron exhibits low strength and hardness as well as high elongation and impact energy. The increase in Mo and Ni contents developed some fractions of pearlite structures near the austenite eutectic cell boundaries, which caused the elongation and impact energy to drop in a small range. Adding Cu and Cr elements rapidly changed the ferrite matrix into pearlite matrix, so strength and hardness were significantly increased. As more Mo and Cr were added, the size and fraction of primary carbides in the eutectic cell boundaries increased through the segregation of these elements into the intercellular boundaries.

Thermal and microstructural characterization of a novel ductile cast iron modified by aluminum addition

In high-temperature applications,like exhaust manifolds,cast irons with a ferritic matrix are mostly used.However,the increasing demand for higher-temperature applications has led manufacturers to use additional expensive materials such as stainless steels and Ni-resist austenitic ductile cast irons.Thus,in order to meet the demand while using low-cost materials,new alloys with improved high-temperature strength and oxidation resistance must be developed.In this study,thermodynamic calculations with Thermo-Calc software were applied to study a novel ductile cast iron with a composition of 3.5wt%C,4wt%Si,1wt%Nb,0‒4wt%Al.The designed compositions were cast,and thermal analysis and microstructural characterization were performed to validate the calculations.The lowest critical temperature of austenite to pearlite eutectoid transformation,i.e.,A1,was calculated,and the solidification sequence was determined.Both calculations and experimental data revealed the importance of aluminum addition,as the A1 increased by increasing the aluminum content in the alloys,indicating the possibility of utilizing the alloys at higher temperature.The experimental data validated the transformation temperature during solidification and at the solid state and confirmed the equilibrium phases at room temperature as ferrite,graphite,and MC-type carbides.

Effect of Bi on graphite morphology and mechanical properties of heavy section ductile cast iron

To improve the mechanical properties of heavy section ductile cast iron, bismuth(Bi) was introduced into the iron. Five castings with different Bi content from 0 to 0.014 wt.% were prepared; and four positions in the casting from the edge to the center, with different solidifi cation cooling rates, were chosen for microstructure observation and mechanical properties test. The effect of the Bi content on the graphite morphology and mechanical properties of heavy section ductile cast iron were investigated. Results show that the tensile strength, elongation and impact toughness at different positions in the fi ve castings decrease with a decrease in cooling rate. With an increase in Bi content, the graphite morphology and the mechanical properties at the same position are improved, and the improvement of mechanical properties is obvious when the Bi content is no higher than 0.011wt.%. But when the Bi content is further increased to 0.014wt.%, the improvement of mechanical properties is not obvious due to the increase of chunky graphite number and the aggregation of chunky graphite. With an increase in Bi content, the tensile fracture mechanism is changed from brittle to mixture ductile-brittle fracture.

Recent development of ductile cast iron production technology in China

Recent progress in the production and technology of ductile cast iron castings in China is reviewed. The manufacture and process control of as-cast ductile iron are discussed. The microstructure, properties and application of partial austenitization normalizing ductile iron and austempered ductile iron (ADI) are briefly depicted. The new development of ductile iron production techniques, such as cored-wire injection (wire-feeding nodularization) process, tundish cover ladle nodularizing process, horizontal continuous casting, and EPC process (lost foam) for ductile iron castings, etc., are summarized.

Formation mechanism of spheroidal carbide in ultra-low carbon ductile cast iron

The formation mechanism of the spheroidal carbide in the ultra-low carbon ductile cast iron fabricated by the metal mold casting technique was systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that the spheroidal carbide belonged to eutectic carbide and crystallized in the isolated eutectic liquid phase area. The formation process of the spheroidal carbide was related to the contact and the intersection between the primary dendrite and the secondary dendrite of austenite. The oxides of magnesium, rare earths and other elements can act as heterogeneous nucleation sites for the spheroidal carbide. It was also found that the amount of the spheroidal carbide would increase with an increase in carbon content. The cooling rate has an important influence on the spheroidal carbide under the same chemical composition condition.

Review of current research and application of ductile cast iron quality monitoring technologies in Chinese foundry industry

There is a long history of studying and making use of ductile cast iron in China.Over the years,the foundrymen in China have carried out a lot of valuable research and development work for measuring parameters and controlling the quality in ductile cast iron production.Many methods,such as rapid metallographic phase,thermal analysis,eutectic expansion ratio,surface tension measurement,melt electrical resistivity,oxygen and sulfur activity measurement,ultrasonic measurement and sound frequency measurement,have been used and have played important roles in Chinese casting production in the past.These methods can be generally classified as liquid testing and solid testing according to the sample state.Based on the analysis of the present situation of these methods applied in the Chinese metal casting industry,the authors consider that there are two difficult technical problems to be currently solved in monitoring ductile iron quality.One is to seek an effective method for quickly evaluating the nodularizing result through on-the-spot sample analysis before the liquid iron is poured into the mould.The other is to find a nondestructive method for accurately identifying casting quality before castings are delivered.

Effect of Austenitizing Treatment on Structure and Hardness of Bainite DuctileCast Iron

By continuous quenching process, the effect of austenitizing temperature and time on the structure and hardness of bainiteductile cast iron was studied. It was found that (l) low austenitizing temperature would result in scrap ferrite existing in matrix, whichreduces the macro-hardness of bainite ductile cast iron; (2) high austenitizing temperature would make carbide decomposed, which alsoinduces the macro-hardness of bainite cast iron, and (3) austenitizing time has little effect on the structure of bainite ductile cast iron, butas it increases, the macro-hardness ofbainite ductile cast iron and micro-hardness of bainite increases. To the ductile cast iron, as a result,the suitable austenitizing temperature and time are recommended as 880 and 120 min respectively.

Hardening Characteristics of Plain Carbon Steel and Ductile Cast Iron Using Neem Oil as Quenchant

The hardening characteristics of medium carbon steel and ductile cast iron using neem oil as quenching medium has been investigated. The samples were quenched to room temperature in Neem oil. To compare the effectiveness of the neem oil samples were also quenched in water and SAE engine oil the commercial quenchants. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the quenched samples were used to determine the quench severity of the neem oil. The result shows that hardness value of the medium carbon steel increased from 18.30HVN in the as-cast condition to 21.60, 20.30and 20.70HVN while that of ductile cast iron samples increased from 18.90HVN in the as-cast condition to 22.65, 20.30 and 21.30HVN for water, neem oil and SAE40 engine oil respectively. The as-received steel sample gave the highest impact strength value and water quenched sample gave the least impact strength. The impact strength of the medium carbon steel samples is 50.84, 41.35, 30.50 and 45.15 Joule and that of ductile iron is 2.71, 1.02, 0.68 and 1.70 Joule for as-cast condition, neem oil, water and SAE 40 engine oil quenched respectively. The microstructure of the samples quenched in the Neem oil revealed the formation of martensite. Hence, neem oil can be used where cooling severity less than that of water but greater than SAE 40 engine oil is required for hardening of plain carbon steels and ductile cast iron.

Effects of slope plate variable and reheating on semi-solid structure of ductile cast iron

Semi-solid metal casting and forming are known as a promising process for a wide range of metalalloys production. In spite of growing application of semi-solid processed light alloys, a few works have been reportedabout semi-solid processing of iron and steel. In this research inclined plate was used to change dendritic structureof iron to globular one. The effects of length and slope of plate on the casting structure were examined. The resultsshow that the process can effectively change the dendritic structure to globular. In the slope plate angle of 7.5? andlength of 560 mm with cooling rate of 67K·s-1 the optimum nodular graphite and solid globular particle were achieved.The results also show that by using slope plate inoculant fading can be prevented more easily since the total time ofprocess is rather short. In addition, the semi-solid ductile cast iron prepared by inclined plate method, was reheated to examine the effectof reheating conditions on the microstructure and coarsening kinetics of the alloy. Solid fraction at different reheatingtemperatures and holding time was obtained and based on these results the optimum reheating temperature rangewas determined.

Nucleation of Bainite in Bainite Ductile Cast Iron

The bainite ductile cast iron with given composition was quenched to get bainite structure.The nucleating position of bainite and the distribution of alloying elements in the matrix were measured.The results show that the bainite nucleates at the interface between graphite and austenite during quenching.Based on the experimental results and thermodynamics,the nucleating mechanism of bainite in ductile iron was analyzed.