MME 345, Lecture 37
Ferrous Foundry Practices
1. The family of cast irons
Ref:
[1] Heine, Loper and Rosenthal. Principles of Metal Casting, Tata McGraw-Hill, 1967
[2] S H Avner. Introduction to Physical Metallurgy, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill.
Topics to discuss today …
1. Metals cast in the foundry
2. Families of cast irons
3. Chemical composition
4. Solidification process
5. Properties and applications
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1. Metals Cast in the Foundry
❑ Industrial complexity requires the material to have certain
combination of properties to meet certain requirements
• a wide variety of alloys is available for selection to obtain the necessary
combination of properties to meet specific conditions
• each of these alloys or groups of alloys possess certain foundry
characteristics that necessitate giving them special considerations
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1.1 Classification of Foundry Alloys
Ferrous alloys Nonferrous alloys
A: Steels A: Aluminium-base
B: Magnesium-base Light-metal
1. Plain carbon steels
2. Low alloy steels C: Copper-base
3. High alloy steels D: Zinc-base
Heavy-metal
E: Lead-base
B: Cast irons
F: Nickel-base
1. Grey cast irons
2. Ductile cast irons G: Tin-base
3. White cast irons H: Miscellaneous
4. Malleable iron
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1.2 Selection of Foundry Alloys
❑ Factors that determine the selection of a casting alloy:
1. Cost
2. Corrosion resistance
3. Strength
4. Toughness
5. Weight
6. Casting properties (e.g., melting point, fluidity, mode of solidification, shrinkage)
7. High- or low-temperature properties
8. Electrical properties
9. Susceptibility to heat treatment
10. Special property requirement (e.g. wear resistance, machinability)
11. Tradition
12. Appearance
13. Personal preference
14. Sales effort for certain alloys
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2. Families of Cast Irons
❑ Cast irons are the largest tonnage of cast-to-shape products Of course, the largest
of foundry industry in the world tonnage of a cast material
is steel, which is then
• found everywhere where manufacturing occurs
mechanically formed into
• the demand for iron castings is based on the nature of cast irons wrought products.
as engineering materials and their economic cost advantages
❑ Have tremendous range of properties at low cost
• Strength and hardness
• Wear and abrasion resistance
• Machinability
❑ Have excellent foundry properties
• Corrosion resistance
• Yield
• Fluidity
❑ Disadvantages • Shrinkage
• Brittle • Ease of production
• Non-machinable (WCI and chilled CI) • Casting soundness
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2.1 What are cast irons?
❑ Complex alloys of iron, carbon (up to ~ 4.0%) and silicon (up to ~ 3.5%)
where carbon present in either graphitic form (pure C, hexagonal structure) or
as an intermetallic iron carbide compound (the most common one being cementite, Fe 3C,
an orthorhombic crystal structure)
❑ Ductility is very low and cannot be rolled, drawn or worked at room temperature;
not usually malleable as-cast
❑ Solidifies with a eutectic;
casting is the only suitable way to produce object using these alloys.
❑ Wide variation in types and properties are achieved by
• varying the balance between C and Si
• alloying with various metallic and non-metallic elements
• varying the melting and casting conditions (e.g., cooling rate, inoculations)
• heat treatment practices after casting
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2.2 Classification of cast irons
based on the form of carbon
Grey cast iron
• after solidification, a large portion of its
carbon is distributed throughout the casting
as free or graphitic carbon in flake form.
• grey iron always presents a grey sooty
surface when fractured. Grey iron showing graphite
Grey iron showing graphite
flakes. Unetched. flakes in steel (ferrite-pearlite)
matrix. Etched.
White cast iron
• after solidification, all of its carbon is present White iron showing pearlite
in a chemically combined form as cementite dendrites and transformed
(iron carbide, Fe3C). ledeburite. Etched.
• white iron presents a white crystalline surface
when fractured.
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Malleable iron
• carbon is present as irregular nodular-shaped aggregates of graphite, called tempered carbon
• produced by heat-treating (malleableizing) white iron of suitable composition to impart ductility,
or malleability in the casting
Malleable iron showing Ferritic malleable iron showing Pearlitic malleable iron showing tempered
tempered carbon. Unetched tempered carbon in ferrite matrix. Etched carbon in ferrite-pearlitic matrix. Etched
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Nodular cast iron
• also known as ductile cast iron (DI), or spheroidal graphite cast iron (SGI)
• a large proportion of its carbon to occur as regular spheroids or nodules.
• small percentage of magnesium, cerium, or other agent is added in a specially prepared liquid iron
to form graphite spheroids in the as-cast condition
• ductility is the highest in these types of cast irons
• presents a bright steely surface when fractured
Ductile iron showing Ferritic ductile iron showing graphite Pearlitic ductile iron showing graphite
graphite nodules. Unetched. nodules in ferrite matrix. Etched. nodules surrounded by ferrites in
ferrite-pearlite matrix. Etched.
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Mottled irons
• an iron of intermediate composition which freezes partly as a white iron
and partly as a gray iron under prevailing cooling conditions
Chilled cast irons
• an iron with such composition that it would normally freeze as a gray iron but which is caused
to freeze white in some locations by rapid cooling during solidification
• fractured surfaces of chilled irons show areas of white iron where freezing was rapid and other
areas of gray iron where the cooling rate was normal
Compacted graphite irons
• also known as vermicular graphite iron, has characteristics midway
between ductile and gray iron and combines many of the properties
of both
• here both graphite flakes and nodules are present;
the flakes are shorter and thicker than that obtained in grey irons
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2.3 Iron–carbon phase diagram
• lower carbon level for Acm line and
eutectic point
austenite dendrites • higher eutectic and eutectoid
temperatures
eutectic (ledeburite)
austenite dendrites
plus ledeburite
pearlite dendrites plus
pearlite plus cementite
iron – carbide system
Addition of silicon
• reduces the eutectic and eutectoid carbon levels
(e.g., for 2% Si, eutectic = 3.6%C, eutectoid = 0.6%C)
• increases austenite instability and reduces austenite
iron – graphite system
zone; widen ferrite area
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3. Chemical Composition
❑ Influence of chemical composition on properties and uses of cast irons is largely
related to the two alloying elements, carbon and silicon, and their influence on the
process of graphitization.
Fe3C = Fe + 3G
cementite ferrite graphite
• presence of C, especially above 2.0%, increases the graphitization process
• presence of Si causes cementite to become less stable (thus promotes graphite formation)
• other elements helping graphitization process (graphite stabilizers): Cu, Ni
• elements inhibiting graphitizing process (carbide stabilizers): Mn, S, P, Cr, V, Mo
• elements having dual effects: Al, Ti (actual effect depends upon final composition)
• elements other than C and Si (e.g., Mn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mo) added mainly to control the matrix
microstructure; have small effects on solidification microstructures
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5.0 • composition of cast irons are described in terms of
grey irons ductile irons both carbon and silicon percentages.
4.0 • Thus the term carbon equivalent, CE, has been
adopted where:
CE = %C + %Si/3
carbon Content, %
3.0
CE > 4.3% ➔ hypereutectic alloy (ductile irons)
CE < 4.3% ➔ hypoeutectic alloy (grey, white, malleable
malleable irons irons)
2.0
white irons
Type of Composition, %
1.0
iron C Si Mn S P
steels Grey 2.5–4.0 1.0–3.0 0.40–1.0 0.05–0.25 0.05 –1.00
0 White 1.8–3.6 0.5–1.9 0.25–0.8 0.06–0.20 0.06–0.18
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 Malleable 2.0–2.6 1.1–1.6 0.15–1.2 0.02–0.20 0.02 –0.20
silicon Content, % Ductile 3.0–4.0 1.8–2.8 0.15–0.9 0.03 max 0.10 max
C and Si percentage ranges in cast irons. Compacted 3.0–4.0 1.8 –2.8 0.40–1.0 0.03 max 0.10 max
Note the overlapping compositions of the
various grades of cast irons.
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3.0
Both C & Si ➔ white iron
2.5
grey Both C & Si ➔ grey iron
per cent carbon
2.0
C @ constant Si
1.5
➔ mottled iron ➔ grey iron
white
1.0
Si @ constant C
0.5 ➔ mottled iron ➔ grey iron
0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
per cent silicon
combined effects of carbon and silicon
on the type of cast iron formed
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❑ Besides composition, other important variable affecting graphitization processes
is the cooling rate or section size in casting.
• slower cooling rates (or, heavy castings) shifts the lines on Fe-G phase diagram
to the left ➔ increased tendency to form graphite
• rapid cooling rates (or, thin castings) shifts the lines on Fe-G phase diagram
to the right ➔ increased tendency to form cementite
❑ Consequences
• grey iron piston rings (thin sections) are high in C and Si content
• grey iron heavy machine tool castings are low in C and Si content
• white irons used for making malleable irons are even lower in C and Si content
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4. Solidification Process
L – liquid
A – austenite
E – eutectic liquid to austenite dendrites
G – graphite transformation begins for alloy A
C – carbide
eutectic transformation begins
L → E (A + G) ➔ grey/nodular iron
approximate temperature, °C
L → E (A + C) ➔ white iron
eutectic transformation ends
• end of solidification structures:
A + G ➔ grey/nodular iron
A + C ➔ white iron
• between 3 and 4, pricipitation of carbon
(as G or C) from austenite takes place
solid state transformation begins
• very complex; some examples are:
A → F + G ➔ ferritic GI or NI
A → P + F + G ➔ pearlitic GI or NI
A → P ➔ white iron
composition factor, %C + %Si/3
simplified Fe-C-Si ternary diagram showing approx. temperature solid state transformation end
ranges for solidification and graphitization in cast irons
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4.1 Cast iron microstructures
❑ The type of cast iron (white / mottled / chilled / grey) is largely established
during the freezing process.
❑ The room-temperature microstructure reflects the entire freezing and cooling
process of the iron.
❑ The properties of cast irons are generally influenced by the thermal and chemical
changes occurring during it entire history from liquid melt to cooled casting
❑ The final microstructures of cast irons
typically contains the following phases/structures:
• graphite
• cementite (Fe3C)
• ferrite
• pearlite
• steadite (a eutectic of Fe and Fe3P)
• austenite
• martensite
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Typical microstructures of cast irons
Commercial Final structure
Carbon-rich phase Matrix (a) Fracture
designation resulted after
Grey iron Lamellar graphite (G) F, P Grey Solidification
Ductile iron Spheroidal graphite F, P, A Silver-grey Solidification
White iron Cementite (Fe3C) P, M White Solidification and H/T
Mottled iron Lamellar G + Fe3C P Mottled Solidification
Malleable iron Tempered graphite F, P Silver-grey Heat treatment
(a) F, ferrite; P, pearlite; A, austenite; M, martensite
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5. Properties and Applications
❑ wide ranges in properties
❑ properties dictated by microstructures
❑ each family is considered as a series of alloys
Type of Iron Hardness (BHN) UTS (psi) Common Uses
Motor blocks, piston ring, heavy machine tool bed,
Grey 150 – 320 30,000 – 60,000 engine crankshaft, municipal and water works, dies,
crankshafts, high-pressure cylinders, large gears
Production of malleable iron, grinding media, pulverizing
White / Chill 350 – >550 50,000
mill plates; car wheel, rolls
Automotive components, pipe fittings, railway inserts,
Malleable 110 – 270 50,000 – 100,000
agricultural equipment
Heavy-duty machinery (gears, dies, rolls), pressure
Ductile 140 – 270 60,000 – 100,000 castings (valves, pump bodies, shock resisting parts),
ductile iron pipes
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Next Class
MME 345, Lecture 38
Ferrous Foundry Practices
2. Metallurgy of grey irons
