DUCTILE IRON DATA FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE |, FORWARD M Ill. ENGINEERING DATA A. introduction (p. 1) B, Tensile Properties (9.182) IC. Other Mechanical (p.2) . Physical Propartios (p.2) E, References (p.2) IV, AUSTEMPERED DUCTILE IRON \V. ALLOY DUCTILE IRONS A. Introduction B, Silicon-Molybdenum Ductile Irons IC. Austenitic Ductile Irons D. References Vl. MACHINABILITY Vil HEAT TREATMENT Vill WELDING, BRAZING AND BONDING A. Welding 8. Brazing IC, References IX SURFACE TREATMENTS, X DESIGNING WITH DUCTILE IRON XI ORDERING CASTINGS Xi SPECIFICATIONS Xill SEARCH (Index) Home Page SECTION 2, INTRODUCTION ‘The Casting Advantage Design Flexibility Reduced Costs 908 Cast Iron: The Natural Composite Types of Cast Irons: History. The Ductile iron Advantage ‘The Ductile iron Family ‘A Matter of Confidence References, The Casting Advantage ‘The casting process has been used for over 5000 years to produce both objects of art and utilitarian items essential for the varied activities of civilization, Why have castings played such a significant role in man’s diverse activities? For the artist, the casting process has provided a medium of expression which not only imposed no restrictions on shape, but also faithfully replicated every detail of his work, no matter how intricate. Designers use the same freedom of form and replication of detail to meet the basic goal of industrial design - the matching of form to function to ‘optimize component performance, In addition to design flexibility, the casting process offers significant advantages in cost and materials selection and performance. Back to Top Design Flexibility The design flexibility offered by the casting process far ‘exceeds that of any other process used for the production of engineering components. This flexibility enables the design engineer ta match the design of the component to its function. Metal can be placed where it is required to ‘optimize the load carrying capacity of the part, and can be removed from unstressed areas to reduce weight. Changes in cross-section can be streamlined to reduce stress concentrations. The result? Both initial and life-cycle costs are reduced through material and energy conservation and increased component performance. Designer engineers can now optimize casting shape and performance with increased speed and confidence, Recent developments in CADICAM, solid modelling and finite element analysis (FEA) techniques permit highly accurate analyses of stress distributions and component deflections under simulated operating conditions. In addition to enhancing functional design, the analytical capabillies of CADICAM have enabled foundry engineers to maximum casting integrity and reduce production costs through the optimization of solidification behaviour. Back to Top Reduced Costs Castings offer cost advantages over fabrications andforgings over a wide range of production rates, component size and design complexity. The mechanization and automation of casting processes have substantially reduced the cost of high volume castings, while new and innovative techniques such as the use of styrofoam patterns and CADICAM patter production have dramatically reduced both development times and costs for prototype and short- run castings. As confidence in FEA techniques increases, the importance of prototypes, often in the form of fabrications which "compromise" the final design, will decrease and more and more new components will 90 directly from the design stage to the production casting. AS shown in Figure 2, 1, as component size and complexity increase, the cost per unit of weight of fabricated components can rise rapidly, while those of castings can actually decrease due to the improved castabilty and higher yield of larger castings. Near net shape casting processes and casting surface finishes in the range 50-500 microinches minimize component production costs by reducing or eliminating machining operations. Replacement of a multi-part, welded andior fastened assembly by a casting offers significant savings in production costs. Inventory costs are reduced, close- tolerance machining required to fit parts together is oliminated, assombly errors cannot occur, and engineering, inspection’ and administrative costs related to mult-part assemblies are reduced significantly. A recent study by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has shown that in certain machine tool applications, the replacement of fabricated structures by Ouctile Iron castings could result in cost savings of 39-50%. Commenting on the NCMS study, Mr, Gary Lunger, President of Erie Press Inc,, stated: "We make huge presses and we have relatively clear specifications for what goes into each press. We have been able to use Ductile Iron as a substitute material primarily for cylinders and other paris at a significant cost saving over cast or fabricated steel. Back to Top Materials Advantages Castings offer advantages over forgings in isotropy of properties and over fabrications in both isotropy and homogeneity, The deformation processes used to produce forgings and plate for fabrications produce laminations which can result in a significant reduction in properties in a direction transverse to the lamination. In fabricated components, design complexity is usually achieved by tho welding of plate or other wrought shapes. This method of construction can reduce component performance in two ways. First, material shape limitations often produce sharp comers which increase slress concentrations, and second, the point of shape change and stress concentration is often a weld, with related possibilites for material weakness and stress-raising defects. Figure 2.2 shows the results of stress analysis of an acrylic joint model in which the stress concentration factor for the weld is substantially higher than for a casting profiled to minimize stress concentration, Back to Top Cast Iron: The Natural Composite Iron castings, as objects of art, weapons of war, or in more uitiitarian forms, have been produced for more than 2000 years. As a commercial process, the production of iron castings probably has no equal for longevity, success orimpact on our society, In a sense, the iron foundry industry produces an invisible yet vital product, since most iron castings are further processed, assembled, and then incorporated as components of other machinery, equipment, and consumer items, The term "cast iron* refers not to a single material, but to a family of materials whose major constituent is iron, with important amounts of carbon and silicon, as shown in Eloure, 23. Cast irons are natural composite materials whose Properties are determined by their microstructures - the stable and metastable phases formed during solidification or subsequent heat treatment. The major microstructural constituents of cast irons are: the chemical and morphological forms taken by carbon, and the continuous metal matrix in which the carbon and/or carbide are dispersed. The following important microstructural components are found in cast irons. Graphite This is the stable form of pure carbon in cast iron. Its important physical properties are low densily, low hardness and high thermal conductivity and lubricity. Graphite shape, which can range from flake to spherical, plays a significant role in determining the mechanical properties of cast irons. Figures 2.4 and 2.5 show that graphite flakes act like cracks in the iron matrix, while graphite spheroids act like “crackarresters", giving the respective irons dramatically different mechanical properties. Carbide Carbide, or cementite, is an extremely hard, brittle compound of carbon with either iron or strong ‘carbide forming elements, such as chromium, vanadium or molybdenum. Massive carbides increase the wear resistance of cast iron, but make it britle and very dificult to machine. Dispersed carbides in either lamellar or spherical forms play in important role in providing strength and wear resistance in as-cast pearfitic and heat-treated irons. Forrito This is the purest iron phase in a cast iron. In conventional Ductile Iron ferrite produces lower strength and hardness, but high ductility and toughness. In Austempered Ductie Iron (ADI), extremely fine-grained accicular ferrite provides an exceptional combination of high strength with good ductility and toughness. Pearlite Peatlite, produced by a eutectoid reaction, is an intimate mixture of lamellar cementite in a matrix of ferrite. A common constituent of cast irons, pearlite provides a combination of higher strength and with a corresponding reduction in ductility which meets the requirements of many engineering applications. Martensite Martensite is @ supersaturated solid solution of carbon in iron produced by rapid cooling. In the untempered condition itis very hard and brittle. Martensite is normally “tempered” + heat treated to reduce its carbon content by the precipitation of carbides - to provide a controlled combination of high strength and wear resistance. Austenite Normally a high temperature phase consisting of carbon dissolved in iron, it can exist at room temperature in austenitic and austempered cast irons. In austenitic irons, austenite is stabilized by nickel in the range 18-36%. In