Understanding Cast Irons

Understanding Cast Irons - Ductile Iron

Ductile iron, also referred to as nodular iron or spheroidal graphite iron, was patented in 1948. After a decade of intensive development work in the 1950s, ductile iron had a phenomenal nine-fold increase in use as an engineering material during the 1960s, and the rapid increase in commercial application continues today.

An unusual combination of properties is obtained in ductile iron because the graphite occurs as spheroids rather than as individual flakes as in gray iron. This mode of solidification is obtained by adding a very small, but specific, amount of Mg to molten iron of a proper composition. The base iron is severely restricted in the allowable contents of certain minor elements that can interfere with the graphite spheroid formation. The added Mg reacts with the sulfur and oxygen in the molten iron and changes the way the graphite is formed. Control procedures have been developed to make the processing of ductile iron dependable.

The high C and Si content of ductile iron provide the casting process advantages, but the graphite spheroids have only a nominal influence on the mechanical properties of the metal. Ductile iron, like malleable iron, exhibits a linear stressstrain relation, a considerable range of yield strengths and, as its name implies, ductility. Castings are made in a wide range of sizes with sections that can be either very thin or very thick.

The different grades are produced by controlling the matrix structure around the graphite either as-cast or by subsequent heat treatment. Only minor compositional differences exist among the regular grades, and these adjustments are made to promote the desired matrix microstructures. Alloy additions may be made to ductile iron to assist in controlling the matrix structure as-cast or to provide response to heat treatment. Special analysis ductile irons and high-alloy ductile irons provide unusual properties for special applications.

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Atlas Foundry Company, Inc.
601 N. Henderson Avenue
Marion, IN 46952-3348
Telephone: (765) 662-2525 • Fax: (765) 662-2902
Email: Atlas Foundry • Sales: Email Sales

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