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Chilling Tendency and Chill of Cast Iron

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180<br />

2 Experimental Procedure<br />

2.1 Flake graphite cast iron<br />

Experimental melts were made in a 15-kg capacity<br />

crucible <strong>of</strong> an electric induction furnace. The raw materials<br />

were pig iron, steel scrap, commercially pure<br />

silicon, <strong>and</strong> Fe-P <strong>and</strong> Fe-S alloys. Melting was followed<br />

by liquid iron superheating up to 1420℃ <strong>and</strong><br />

inoculation using FOUNDRYSIL with a 0.2-0.5-cm<br />

granulation <strong>and</strong> added as 0.5 % <strong>of</strong> the total charge<br />

weight. After various time intervals (1.5, 5, 10, 15, 20,<br />

<strong>and</strong> 25 min) from the instant <strong>of</strong> inoculation, the cast<br />

iron was poured into plate shaped molds <strong>of</strong> s=0.6, 1.0,<br />

1.6, 2.2, <strong>and</strong> 3.0 cm in thickness. The average chemical<br />

composition <strong>of</strong> cast iron was 3.18% C, 1.91% Si,<br />

0.13% Mn, 0.092% P, <strong>and</strong> 0.064% S. In all cases, the<br />

plates had a common gating system. The foundry<br />

molds were prepared using conventional molding s<strong>and</strong>.<br />

In addition, they were instrumented with Pt/PtRh10<br />

thermocouples enclosed in quartz sleeves. The thermocouple<br />

tips were located in the geometric center <strong>of</strong><br />

each mold cavity. An Agilent 34970A electronic module<br />

was used to record the cooling curves which were<br />

used to determine the initial metal temperature Ti just<br />

after the mold filling <strong>and</strong> the maximum undercooling,<br />

2.2 Ductile cast iron<br />

Tsinghua Science <strong>and</strong> Technology, April 2008, 13(2): 177-183<br />

∆Tm, at the onset <strong>of</strong> eutectic solidification. After cooling,<br />

specimens were taken for metallographic examination<br />

from the geometric centers <strong>of</strong> the plates. Metallographic<br />

examinations were made on polished <strong>and</strong><br />

etched (stead reagent) specimens to show the graphite<br />

eutectic cell boundaries. The planar microstructure was<br />

characterized by the average number <strong>of</strong> eutectic cells<br />

NF per unit area (cell count) [12]<br />

N<br />

N + 0.5 N<br />

F<br />

+ 1<br />

i w<br />

F = (14)<br />

where Ni is the number <strong>of</strong> eutectic cells inside a rectangle<br />

S, Nw is the number <strong>of</strong> eutectic cells that intersect<br />

the sides <strong>of</strong> S but not their corners <strong>and</strong> F is the surface<br />

area <strong>of</strong> S. The average number <strong>of</strong> eutectic cells N<br />

per unit volume (volumetric cell count) was given<br />

by [13]<br />

N ≅ 0.568 N<br />

(15)<br />

3/2<br />

F<br />

Wedges with Bw=1.25 cm <strong>and</strong> α=28.5 o <strong>and</strong> samples<br />

for chemical composition measurement were also cast<br />

simultaneously with the plates. Figure 2 shows typical<br />

planar microstructures <strong>of</strong> the wedges. The width, W, <strong>of</strong><br />

the total chill <strong>and</strong> the critical cell count, Ncr, were<br />

measured at the junction <strong>of</strong> the gray structure with the<br />

first spot <strong>of</strong> cementite as shown in Fig. 2.<br />

Fig. 2 Exhibited microstructure in wedge-shaped <strong>of</strong> flake graphite castings<br />

The test melts were made in an electric induction furnace<br />

having 8000 kg capacity. The raw materials were<br />

iron scrap, steel scrap, <strong>and</strong> commercially pure silicon.<br />

After melting <strong>and</strong> preheating at 1485 ℃ , the cast iron<br />

was poured into a casting ladle where it was spheroidized<br />

using the cored wired injection method. Different<br />

inoculants in various amounts were used. The aim<br />

<strong>of</strong> using different inoculants <strong>and</strong> inoculation processes<br />

was to induce different maximum undercoolings, ∆Tm,<br />

<strong>and</strong> various nodule counts N. The average chemical<br />

composition <strong>of</strong> the nodular iron was 3.69% C, 2.63%<br />

Si, 0.42% Mn, 0.02% P, 0.02% S, <strong>and</strong> 0.04% Mg. The<br />

nodular cast iron was poured into the same molds as<br />

for the gray cast iron. The cooling curves <strong>and</strong> metallographic<br />

structure were examined in the same way as<br />

for the gray cast iron. In the nodular cast iron the

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