A Comparison of Selected Methods of Graphitizing Inoculation Applied after the Spheroidizing Treatment

The work compares the effectiveness of selected methods of graphitizing inoculation applied after the spheroidization in the slender tundish ladle of 1 Mg capacity. The inoculation was carried out according to the three various options. The first one was performed simply by means of the block of inoculant inserted in the gating system of the mould, the second one started with initial inoculation by the in-stream method during the transfer of metal from the slender ladle to the pouring ladle and was completed with the secondary modification by means of the inoculant insert placed in the mould, the third one consisted in similar initial inoculation by the in-stream method during the transfer of metal from the slender ladle to the pouring ladle followed by the secondary inoculation, again by the in-stream method, applied during the pouring operation. Examination of cast iron structure allowed to find that the best results of inoculation are achieved in the case of inoculation carried out according to the Option III, though in all cases it was possible to produce cast iron of EN-GJS-400-15 grade meeting the demands of the Standard [8]

The Influence of Small Amounts of Aluminium on the Spheroidization of Cast Iron with Cerium Mischmetal

The influence of aluminium (added in quantity from about 0.6% to about 2.8%) on both the alloy matrix and the shape of graphite precipitates in cast iron treated with a fixed amounts of cerium mischmetal (0.11%) and ferrosilicon (1.29%) is discussed in the paper. The metallographic examinations were carried out for specimens cut out of the separately cast rods of 20 mm diameter. It was found that the addition of aluminium in the amounts from about 0.6% to about 1.1% to the cast iron containing about 3% of carbon, about 3.7% of silicon (after graphitizing modification), and 0.1% of manganese leads to the occurrence of the ferrite-pearlite matrix containing cementite precipitates in the case of the treatment of the alloy with cerium mischmetal . The increase in the quantity of aluminium up to about 1.9% or up to about 2.8% results either in purely ferrite matrix in this first case or in ferrite matrix containing small amounts of pearlite in the latter one. Nodular graphite precipitates occurred only in cast iron containing 1.9% or 2.8% of aluminium, and the greater aluminium content resulted in the higher degree of graphite spheroidization. The noticeable amount of vermicular graphite precipitates accompanied the nodular graphite

The influence of small amounts of aluminium on the spheroidization of cast iron with cerium mischmetal

The influence of aluminium (added in quantity from about 0.6% to about 2.8%) on both the alloy matrix and the shape of graphite precipitates in cast iron treated with a fixed amounts of cerium mischmetal (0.11%) and ferrosilicon (1.29%) is discussed in the paper. The metallographic examinations were carried out for specimens cut out of the separately cast rods of 20 mm diameter. It was found that the addition of aluminium in the amounts from about 0.6% to about 1.1% to the cast iron containing about 3% of carbon, about 3.7% of silicon (after graphitizing modification), and 0.1% of manganese leads to the occurrence of the ferrite-pearlite matrix containing cementite precipitates in the case of the treatment of the alloy with cerium mischmetal . The increase in the quantity of aluminium up to about 1.9% or up to about 2.8% results either in purely ferrite matrix in this first case or in ferrite matrix containing small amounts of pearlite in the latter one. Nodular graphite precipitates occurred only in cast iron containing 1.9% or 2.8% of aluminium, and the greater aluminium content resulted in the higher degree of graphite spheroidization. The noticeable amount of vermicular graphite precipitates accompanied the nodular graphite

The Leading Role of Aluminium in the Growing Production of Castings Made of the Non-Ferrous Alloys

The paper presents changes in the production volume of castings made of non-ferrous alloys on the background of changes in total production of casting over the 2000-2019 period, both on a global scale and in Poland. It was found that the dynamics of increase in the production volume of castings made of non-ferrous alloys was distinctly greater than the dynamics of increase in the total production volume of castings over the considered period of time. Insofar as the share of production of the non-ferrous castings in the total production of castings was less than 16% during the first two years of the considered period, it reached the level of 20% in the last four years analysed. This share, when it comes to Poland, increased even to the greater degree; it grew from about 10% of domestic production of castings to over 33% within the regarded 2000-2019 period. The greatest average annual growth rate of production, both on a global scale and in Poland, was recorded for aluminium alloys as compared with other basic non-ferrous alloys. This growth rate for all the world was 4.08%, and for Poland 10.6% over the 2000-2019 period. The value of the average annual growth rate of the production of aluminium castings in Poland was close to the results achieved by China (12%), India (10.3%) and the South Korea (15.4%) over the same period of time. In 2019, the total production of castings in the world was equal to about 109 million tonnes, including over 21 million tonnes of castings made of non-ferrous alloys. The corresponding data with respect to Poland are about 1 million tonnes and about 350 thousand tonnes, respectively. In the same year, the production of castings made of aluminium alloys was equal to about 17.2 million tonnes in the world, and about 340 thousand tonnes in Poland

The influence of small amounts of aluminium on the effectiveness of cast iron spheroidization with magnesium

The influence of aluminium added in amounts of about 1.6%, 2.1%, or 2.8% on the effectiveness of cast iron spheroidization with magnesium was determined. The cast iron was melted and treated with FeSiMg7 master alloy under industrial conditions. The metallographic examinations were performed for the separately cast rods of 20 mm diameter. They included the assessment of the shape of graphite precipitates and of the matrix structure. The results allowed to state that the despheroidizing influence of aluminium (introduced in the above mentioned quantities) is the stronger, the higher is the aluminium content in the alloy. The results of examinations carried out by means of a computer image analyser enabled the quantitative assessment of the considered aluminium addition influence. It was found that the despheroidizing influence of aluminium (up to about 2.8%) yields the crystallization of either the deformed nodular graphite precipitates or vermicular graphite precipitates. None of the examined specimens, however, contained the flake graphite precipitates. The results of examinations confirmed the already known opinion that aluminium widens the range of ferrite crystallization

The Initial Assessment of Effectiveness of the Impulse Method of Introducing an Inoculant into Cast Iron

An initial assessment of the effectiveness of cast iron inoculation, performed by the method of impulse introducing the master alloy into cast iron, is presented. The experiment was concerned with the hypoeutectic gray cast iron inoculated with either the Alinoc or the Barinoc master alloy by means of an experimental device for pneumatic transportation. Examinations involved pneumatic injection of the powdered inoculant carried in a stream of gaseous medium (argon) into the metal bath held in the crucible of an induction furnace. It was found that the examined process is characterised by both high effectiveness and stability