ALINOC® INOCULANT - Elkem

ALINOC ® INOCULANT
ISO 9001 ISO 14001 ISO/TS 16949

ALINOC ® INOCULANT
n More potent than conventional Ca­bearing inoculants
n More cost effective than other Ca­bearing inoculants
n Potent ferrite promoting inoculant in ductile iron
n Can be used in both grey and ductile irons
n Very effective preconditioner in low Al grey iron
n High Si inoculants are more effective than low Si inoculants
Alinoc ® inoculants are 67 – 75% Si
based ferroalloys with defined levels of
alu minium and calcium. The in oculant
has a silver grey crystalline appearance
and is especially developed for
inoculation of ferritic ductile iron.
Alinoc ® inoculant is produced at
the Elkem Bremanger plant in Norway
and the Elkem Chicoutimi plant
in Canada, using special pro duction
methods to ensure maximum uniformity
of compo sition and structure
throughout the product. Both Elkem
plants have ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
accreditations, in addition to ISO/TS
16949 certificate for Elkem Bremanger.
Ferrosilicon alloys that contain
ele ments such as calcium and alu­
minium have complex structures
consisting of a number of inter me tallic
compounds. The solidifi cation temperatures
of these compounds vary and
this can lead to extensive segregation
if the alloy is allowed to cool slowly
during casting. Because some of
these compounds are more brittle
and crush more readily, this can lead
Alinoc ® inoculants are produced to the
following chemical specifications:
Production of Alinoc ® Inoculant
to wide variations in compositions of
different particle sizes after crushing
and grading.
At the Elkem Bremanger and Chicoutimi
plants, Alinoc ® inocu lant is cast
into thin slabs in iron moulds. This pro­
duces a very fine structure and avoids
any risk of segre gation occurring
during solidification. The composition
of Alinoc ® inoculant is therefore consistent
over the entire range of particle
sizes. The phase composition is shown
in Figure 1.
Alinoc ® Alinoc ® 75
Silicon 64 – 70% 70 – 75%
Aluminium 3.5 – 4.5%
Calcium 0.5 – 1.5%
Iron Balance
Si FeSi CaAl Si FeAl Si 2
2 2
3 2
Figure 1: Typical phases in Alinoc ® inoculant.
Alinoc ® is a registered trademark of Elkem AS.

Advantages of Alinoc ® Inoculant
Alinoc ® inoculant is a very effective
addition for ductile iron and is especially
potent when used on ferritic
and the mixed ferrite/pearlite grades.
Alinoc ® inoculant may be used both
as ladle and as stream inoculant.
Compared to conventional Ca bearing
inoculants Alinoc ® inocu lant is normally
applied at a reduced addition rate.
Where a two step inoculation is applied,
Alinoc ® inoculant can be used in both
stages with excellent results. In grey
iron it is also possible to combine
Alinoc ® inoculant with Sr bearing
inoculants as a two stage addition
where Alinoc ® inoculant should only
be used as first step inoculant.
Alinoc ® inoculant can be used as a
preconditioner in grey iron and can
also be used to adjust the Al content
of the base iron. Compared to Foundry
Grade FeSi (FG FeSi) the addition rate
can normally be reduced by 10 – 50%.
The example in Figure 2 shows two
samples inoculated with Alinoc ® inoculant
and a Zr­con taining inoculant
cast from the same base metal.
Data from automatic image analysis
for the two samples is presented in
Table 1. These results show that there
is a significant difference in ferrite
content between the two samples.
Figure 2: Comparison of ferrite content between Alinoc ® inoculant (top) and Zr-
containing inoculant (bottom) under equal conditions. Polished (left) and etched
(right). Addition rate 0.3%.
Table 1: Data from automatic image analysis.
Nodule Count N/mm 2
Nodularity [%]
Graphite [%]
Pearlite [%]
Alinoc ® inoculant Zr-containing inoculant
356
90
10
8
335
89
9
15

Case Study
The foundry produces about 10.000
tons of ductile iron castings per year.
They have induction melting and the
iron is treated with pure Mg. Inoculation
is done in two steps using Alinoc ®
inoculant in both. Figure 3 shows the
typical highly ferrritic microstructure in
a grade 400/18 iron.
Application of Alinoc ® Inoculant
Alinoc ® inoculant can be used as ladle
and stream inoculant in both grey and
ductile irons. Addition in the ladle will,
for grey iron normally be 0.2 – 0.3%
and for ductile iron 0.3 – 0.5%. When
Physical Data
Apparent Density 3.1– 3.7 g/cm 3
Bulk Density 1.75 – 2.0 g/cm 3
Melting Range 1300 –1325 °C (liq)
1208 °C (sol)
Figure 3: Microstructure obtained in 30 mm section using Alinoc® inoculant in
a two step inoculation. Polished (left) and etched (right).
added to the stream the addition rate
will be 0.05 – 0.15% in grey iron and
0.1– 0.25% in ductile iron. Used
as a preconditioner, the normal
addition rate will be between
Standard Sizes
In-stream/MSI 0.2 – 0.7 mm
Small Ladle 0.7 – 2 mm
Larger Ladle 2 – 6 mm
0.1 – 0.5% depending on the initial Al
level in the base iron.
Standard Packing
Big Bag 1050 kg on pallet
Big Bag 1500 kg on pallet
Big Bag 500 kg on pallet
Paper Bag 25 kg on pallet
Steel Drum 200 and 220 kg
Elkem AS
Foundry Products
Hoffsveien 65B
P.O. Box 5211
Majorstuen
N-0303, Oslo, Norway
Telephone : +47 22 45 01 00
Telefax : +47 22 45 01 52
www.foundry.elkem.com Revised April 2012 © Copyright Elkem AS