Cast iron

Cast iron is a group of iron-carbon alloys with a carbon content greater than 2%.[1] Its usefulness
derives from its low melt temperature. The alloy constituents affect its colour when fractured: white
cast iron has carbide impurities which allow cracks to pass straight through; grey cast iron has
graphite flakes which deflect a passing crack and initiate countless new cracks as the material
breaks; ductile cast iron which stops the crack from further progressing due to their spherical
graphite "nodules".
Carbon (C) ranging from 1.8–4 wt%, and silicon (Si) 1–3 wt% are the main alloying elements of cast
iron. Iron alloys with less carbon content are known as steel. While this technically makes the Fe–C–
Si system ternary, the principle of cast iron solidification can be understood from the
simpler binary iron–carbon phase diagram. Since the compositions of most cast irons are around
the eutectic point (lowest liquid point) of the iron–carbon system, the melting temperatures usually
range from 1,150 to 1,200 °C (2,100 to 2,190 °F), which is about 300 °C (540 °F) lower than the
melting point of pure iron.
Cast iron tends to be brittle, except for malleable cast irons. With its relatively low melting point,
good fluidity, castability, excellent machinability, resistance to deformation and wear resistance, cast
irons have become an engineering materialwith a wide range of applications and are used in pipes,
machines and automotive industry parts, such as cylinder heads (declining usage), cylinder
blocks and gearbox cases (declining usage). It is resistant to destruction and weakening
by oxidation (rust).
The earliest cast iron artefacts date to the 5th century BCE, and were discovered
by archaeologists in what is nowJiangsu in China. Cast iron was used in ancient China for warfare,
agriculture, and architecture.[2] During the 15th century, cast iron became utilized for artillery
in Burgundy, France, and in England during the Reformation.[3] The first cast iron bridge was built
during the 1770s by Abraham Darby III, and is known as The Iron Bridge. Cast iron is also used in
the construction of buildings.
Cast iron is made by re-melting pig iron, often along with substantial quantities of iron, steel,
limestone, carbon (coke) and taking various steps to remove undesirable
contaminants. Phosphorus and sulfur may be burnt out of the molten iron, but this also burns out the
carbon, which must be replaced. Depending on the application, carbon and silicon content are
adjusted to the desired levels, which may be anywhere from 2–3.5% and 1–3%, respectively. Other
elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting.[citation needed]
Cast iron is sometimes melted in a special type of blast furnace known as a cupola, but more often
melted in electric induction furnaces or electric arc furnaces.[4]After melting is complete, the molten
cast iron is poured into a holding furnace or ladle.
Types of Alloying elements

Iron-cementite meta-stable diagram.

Cast iron's properties are changed by adding various alloying elements, or alloyants. Next
to carbon, silicon is the most important alloyant because it forces carbon out of solution. A low
percentage of silicon allows carbon to remain in solution forming iron carbide and the production of
white cast iron. A high percentage of silicon forces carbon out of solution forming graphite and the
production of grey cast iron. Other alloying agents, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, titanium
and vanadium counteracts silicon, promotes the retention of carbon, and the formation of those
carbides. Nickel and copper increase strength, and machinability, but do not change the amount of
graphite formed. The carbon in the form of graphiteresults in a softer iron, reduces shrinkage, lowers
strength, and decreases density. Sulfur, largely a contaminant when present, forms iron sulfide,
which prevents the formation of graphite and increases hardness. The problem with sulfur is that it
makes molten cast iron viscous, which causes defects. To counter the effects of
sulfur, manganese is added because the two form into manganese sulfide instead of iron sulfide.
The manganese sulfide is lighter than the melt so it tends to float out of the melt and into the slag.
The amount of manganese required to neutralize sulfur is 1.7 × sulfur content + 0.3%. If more than
this amount of manganese is added, then manganese carbide forms, which increases hardness
and chilling, except in grey iron, where up to 1% of manganese increases strength and density.[5]
Nickel is one of the most common alloying elements because it refines the pearlite and graphite
structure, improves toughness, and evens out hardness differences between section
thicknesses. Chromium is added in small amounts to reduce free graphite, produce chill, and
because it is a powerful carbide stabilizer; nickel is often added in conjunction. A small amount
of tin can be added as a substitute for 0.5% chromium. Copper is added in the ladle or in the
furnace, on the order of 0.5–2.5%, to decrease chill, refine graphite, and increase
fluidity. Molybdenum is added on the order of 0.3–1% to increase chill and refine the graphite and
pearlite structure; it is often added in conjunction with nickel, copper, and chromium to form high
strength irons. Titanium is added as a degasser and deoxidizer, but it also increases fluidity. 0.15–
0.5% vanadium is added to cast iron to stabilize cementite, increase hardness, and increase
resistance to wear and heat. 0.1–0.3% zirconiumhelps to form graphite, deoxidize, and increase
fluidity.[5]
In malleable iron melts, bismuth is added, on the scale of 0.002–0.01%, to increase how much
silicon can be added. In white iron, boron is added to aid in the production of malleable iron; it also
reduces the coarsening effect of bismuth.[5]
Grey cast iron
Grey cast iron is characterised by its graphitic microstructure, which causes fractures of the material
to have a grey appearance. It is the most commonly used cast iron and the most widely used cast
material based on weight. Most cast irons have a chemical composition of 2.5–4.0% carbon, 1–3%
silicon, and the remainder iron. Grey cast iron has less tensile strength and shock resistance than
steel, but its compressive strength is comparable to low- and medium-carbon steel. These
mechanical properties are controlled by the size and shape of the graphite flakes present in the
microstructure and can be characterised according to the guidelines given by the ASTM.[6]
White cast iron
White cast iron displays white fractured surfaces due to the presence of an iron carbide precipitate
called cementite. With a lower silicon content (graphitizing agent) and faster cooling rate, the carbon
in white cast iron precipitates out of the melt as the metastable phase cementite, Fe3C, rather than
graphite. The cementite which precipitates from the melt forms as relatively large particles. As the
iron carbide precipitates out, it withdraws carbon from the original melt, moving the mixture toward
one that is closer to eutectic, and the remaining phase is the lower iron-carbon austenite (which on
cooling might transform to martensite). These eutectic carbides are much too large to provide the
benefit of what is called precipitation hardening (as in some steels, where much smaller cementite
precipitates might inhibit plastic deformation by impeding the movement of dislocations through the
pure iron ferrite matrix). Rather, they increase the bulk hardness of the cast iron simply by virtue of
their own very high hardness and their substantial volume fraction, such that the bulk hardness can
be approximated by a rule of mixtures. In any case, they offerhardness at the expense of toughness.
Since carbide makes up a large fraction of the material, white cast iron could reasonably be
classified as a cermet. White iron is too brittle for use in many structural components, but with good
hardness and abrasion resistance and relatively low cost, it finds use in such applications as the
wear surfaces (impeller and volute) of slurry pumps, shell liners and lifter bars in ball
mills and autogenous grinding mills, balls and rings in coal pulverisers, and the teeth of a backhoe's
digging bucket (although cast medium-carbon martensitic steel is more common for this application).
It is difficult to cool thick castings fast enough to solidify the melt as white cast iron all the way
through. However, rapid cooling can be used to solidify a shell of white cast iron, after which the
remainder cools more slowly to form a core of grey cast iron. The resulting casting, called a chilled
casting, has the benefits of a hard surface with a somewhat tougher interior.
High-chromium white iron alloys allow massive castings (for example, a 10-tonne impeller) to be
sand cast, as the chromium reduces cooling rate required to produce carbides through the greater
thicknesses of material. Chromium also produces carbides with impressive abrasion resistance.[citation
needed]
These high-chromium alloys attribute their superior hardness to the presence of chromium
carbides. The main form of these carbides are the eutectic or primary M7C3 carbides, where "M"
represents iron or chromium and can vary depending on the alloy's composition. The eutectic
carbides form as bundles of hollow hexagonal rods and grow perpendicular to the hexagonal basal
plane. The hardness of these carbides are within the range of 1500-1800HV[7]
Malleable cast iron
Malleable iron starts as a white iron casting that is then heat treated for a day or two at about 950 °C
(1,740 °F) and then cooled over a day or two. As a result, the carbon in iron carbide transforms into
graphite and ferrite plus carbon (austenite). The slow process allows the surface tension to form the
graphite into spheroidal particles rather than flakes. Due to their lower aspect ratio, the spheroids are
relatively short and far from one another, and have a lower cross section vis-a-vis a propagating
crack or phonon. They also have blunt boundaries, as opposed to flakes, which alleviates the stress
concentration problems found in grey cast iron. In general, the properties of malleable cast iron are
more like those of mild steel. There is a limit to how large a part can be cast in malleable iron, as it is
made from white cast iron.
Ductile cast iron
Developed in 1948, nodular or ductile cast iron has its graphite in the form of very tiny nodules with
the graphite in the form of concentric layers forming the nodules. As a result, the properties of ductile
cast iron are that of a spongy steel without the stress concentration effects that flakes of graphite
would produce. Tiny amounts of 0.02 to 0.1% magnesium, and only 0.02 to 0.04% cerium added to
these alloys slow the growth of graphite precipitates by bonding to the edges of the graphite planes.
Along with careful control of other elements and timing, this allows the carbon to separate as
spheroidal particles as the material solidifies. The properties are similar to malleable iron, but parts
can be cast with larger sections.
Table of comparative qualities of cast irons

Comparative qualities of cast irons[8]

Yield
Nominal Form Hardnes
strength Tensile Elongatio
composition and s
Name [ksi (0.2 strengt n [% (in Uses
[% by conditio [Brinell
% h [ksi] 2 inches)]
weight] n scale]
offset)]

Grey cast Engine cylinder

iron C 3.4, blocks, flywheels,gearb
Cast — 50 0.5 260
(ASTM A4 Si 1.8,Mn 0.5 ox cases, machine-tool
8) bases

White cast C 3.4, Si 0.7, Cast (as

— 25 0 450 Bearing surfaces
iron Mn 0.6 cast)

Malleable
Cast Axle bearings, track
iron C 2.5, Si 1.0,
(annealed 33 52 12 130 wheels,
(ASTM Mn 0.55
) automotive crankshafts
A47)

Ductile or C 3.4, P 0.1,

Gears, camshafts,
nodular Mn 0.4, Ni 1. Cast 53 70 18 170
crankshafts
iron 0, Mg 0.06

Ductile or
cast
nodular
(quench
iron — 108 135 5 310 —
tempered
(ASTM
)
A339)

C 2.7, Si 0.6,
Ni-hard High strength
Mn 0.5, Sand-cast — 55 — 550
type 2 applications
Ni 4.5, Cr 2.0

C 3.0, Si 2.0,
Ni-resist Mn 1.0, Resistance to heat and
Cast — 27 2 140
type 2 Ni 20.0, corrosion
Cr 2.5