Course: Engineering Materials II

CHAPTER 2 CAST IRON:

INTRODUCTION:

Iron with 1.7 to 4.5% carbon and 0.5 to 3% silicon

 Lower melting point and more fluid than steel (better castability)

 Low cost material usually produced by sand casting

 A wide range of properties, depending on composition & cooling rate

 Strength
 Hardness
 Ductility
 Thermal conductivity
 Damping capacity

Advantages and disadvantages of cast irons (incomparison with steels):

Advantages:
 Good castability
 Good machinability
 Antivibration properties
 Low stress concentration
Disadvantages:
 High brittleness
 Non machinable (white cast iron, chilled cast iron)
 Cold brittleness

Types of cast iron

 White cast iron - carbides, often alloyed
 Grey cast iron - carbon as graphite
 Malleable cast iron
 S.G (Spheroidal graphite ) cast iron
 Nodular cast iron
 Alloy of cast iron

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

Effect of cooling rate:

 Slow cooling favours the formation of graphite & low hardness
 Rapid cooling promotes carbides with high hardness
 Thick sections cool slowly, while thin sections cool quickly
 Sand moulds cool slowly, but metal chills can be used to increase cooling rate & promote
white iron

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

I.White Cast Iron:

Characteristics:
 White cast iron derives its name from the fact that its freshly broken surface shows bright
white fracture.
 When iron of proper composition cool fast enough the free carbon will go in the combined
form and give rise to white iron casting.
 The result is a material with lots of iron carbide, Fe3C. Iron carbide is a Extremely hard and
brittle.
 Thus, white cast iron possesses excellent abrasive wear resistance.
 White cast iron under normal circumstances is brittle and Not easily machined
 White iron casting can be made in sand moulds.
 The solidification range of white iron is 2550 – 2065 f
 Shrinkage is 1/8 inch per foot
 White cast iron is first step in the production of malleable iron casting
 Also made on surface of grey iron casing provide the material in special composition
 The white iron contains
 1.8 – 3.6 % C
 0.5 – 2.0 % Si
 0.2 – 0.8 % Mn
 0.18 % P
 0.10 % s

Microstructure of White Cast Iron

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

Application:
1. For producing malleable iron casting.
2. For manufacturing those component part which required a hard and abrasion resistant material.
3. Stairs, Decorative features, Tools and utensils

II. Grey Cast Iron

Flake graphite in a matrix of pearlite, ferrite or martensite
 Wide range of applications
 Low ductility - elongation 0.6%
 Grey cast iron forms when
 Cooling is slow, as in heavy sections
 High silicon or carbon
Mechanical properties
1. High Compressive strength
2. Low tensile strength
3. High rigidity
4. High stability
Casting properties
1. High fluidity and ability to make sound casting
2. Relative low melting temperature 1130 – 1250 C

Microstructure of Grey Cast Iron

Characteristics:
 Gray iron basically is an alloy of silicon and carbon with iron.
 It readily cast into desired shape in a sand mould.
 The white iron contains

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II
 2.5 – 3.8 % C
 1.1– 2.8 % Si
 0.4 – 1.0 % Mn
 0.15 % P
 0.10 % s
 It posses machinability better than steel
 It has high resistance to wear.

III. Malleable Iron

 Graphite in nodular form
 Produced by heat treatment of white cast iron
 Graphite nodules are irregular clusters
 Similar properties to ductile iron
 Malleable cast iron is one which can be rolled and hammered to obtain different shapes.
 Produced by heat treatment of hard and brittle white cast iron.
 Malleable cast iron possesses high yield strength.
 It has solidification range 2550 – 2065 f.
 Malleable cast iron contain
2–3%C
0.15 % P
0.6 – 1.3 % Si
0.10 % S
0.2 – 0.6 % Mn
 It has low to moderate cost.
 It has shrinkage of 3/16 inch per foot.
 It possesses good wear resistance.
 It possesses good vibration damping capacity.
 It has low Coefficient thermal expansion

Properties:
 Similar to ductile iron
 Good shock resistance
 Good ductility
 Good machineability

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

Microstructure of Malleable Iron

Applications:
Similar applications to ductile iron Malleable iron is better for thinner castings ,Ductile iron better
for thicker castings >40mm ,Vehicle components -Power trains, frames, suspensions and wheels,
crank shaft, Steering components, transmission and differential parts, connecting rods ,Railway
components, Electrical line hardware, Conveyor chain links, Agricultural implements ,Pipe fittings
AS3673

IV. Nodular Cast Iron

 Nodular cast iron, also known as ductile iron, spheroidal, graphite iron, and spherulitic iron, is
cast iron in which the graphite is present as tiny balls or spheroids.
 Nodular cast iron differs from malleable iron in that it is usually obtained as a result of
solidification and does not require heat treatment.
 The spheroids are more rounded than the irregular aggregates of temper carbon found in
malleable iron.

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

Microstructure of Nodular cast iron

PROPERTIES:
 The structure of nodular cast iron has high toughness, maximum ductility & machinability
which can widely use in some applications.
 APPLICATION: Some typical application Nodular cast iron are in the field of: Agricultural &
tractor parts. Automotive & diesel engine crankshafts.

V. ALLOY CAST IRON:

 An alloy cast iron is one which contains a specially added element or elements in sufficient
amount to produce a measurable modification in the physical or mechanical properties.
 Alloying elements are added to cast iron for special properties such as resistance to corrosion,
heat, or wear, and to improve mechanical properties and also for accelerate or graphitization.
 The most common alloying elements are chromium, copper, molybdenum, nickel and
vanadium.
 It has high strength and high thermal properties.

Applications:
Used in essential parts of trains (frames, suspensions and wheels), automobile cylinders, pistons,
piston rings & turbine stator vanes

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II

Heat Treatment of Cast Iron

The types of heat treatments for cast irons involve stress relief, annealing, normalizing and
hardening (quench and temper). In each of these processes, it is important to understand the
materials’ response to its heat-treat process parameters (time, temperature and atmosphere).

Stress Relief
The need for stress relief is due to internal (residual) stress in the castings, which is often the result
of cooling a complex or intricate shape or one with radical changes in cross-sectional area. In stress
relief, the time-temperature relationship plays a significant role and higher temperatures will affect
mechanical properties and often require the use of protective atmosphere to avoid oxidation.

Annealing
The annealing process is applied to castings primarily to improve machinability by softening the
material. In the case of ductile iron, increases in ductility and impact resistance often result.

Normalizing
Iron castings are commonly normalized to obtain a microstructure of fine pearlite. The result is a
microstructure with increased tensile strength and wear resistance. Normalized structures respond
well to induction hardening. In general, the heating rate is not important, but excessive distortion
and cracking must be avoided.

Hardening (Quench and Temper)

It is important to carefully select and control the process parameters when performing these
operations so as to avoid problems such as distortion, warpage, overheating (“burning”) or quench
cracking.

Common Heat Treatment for the Specific Cast-Iron Types

High-alloy (e.g., high chromium, high nickel-chromium) white irons can be heat treated. For
example, nickel-chromium white-iron castings are given a stress-relief heat treatment because,
properly made, they have an as-cast martensitic matrix structure. Tempering is performed between
205°C (400°F) and 260°C (450°F) for at least 4 hours. This tempers the martensite, relieves some
of the transformation stresses, and increases the strength and impact toughness by 50-80%.
Malleable cast iron can be heat treated to the same microstructures as ductile cast irons.

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN

Course: Engineering Materials II
The most common heat treatment applied to gray cast irons is stress relief because of non-uniform
cooling of castings and annealing to improve machinability. Subcritical heating is used for both.
Stress relief is done at temperatures between 550-650°C (1020-1200°F) without significantly
lowering strength and hardness. Heating at temperatures between 700˚C (1290°F) and 760°C
(1400°F) reduces the hardness for improved machinability.
Heat treatments of ductile cast iron include stress relief and annealing, and heat treatments used for
steels include normalize and temper (for higher strength and wear resistance), quench and temper
(for the highest strength) and austempering. Ferritizing (for the most-ductile microstructure) is done
by austenitizing at 900°C (1650°F) followed by holding at 700°C (1290°F) to completely transform
austenite to ferrite and graphite.

G2Mechanical A, B, C, D&E Sec Instructor: MOHAMMED IRFAN