SOLIDIFICATION CONDITIONS OF GRAY AND WHITE CAST IRON. PART I - THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Abstract

The present work is based on a heat balance during the solidification of cast iron. Accordingly, an analytical expression was derived to relate the chilling tendency (CT) of cast iron with nucleation and growth processes associated with eutectic graphite and cementite constituents. A relationship is found between the CT and factors such as the physical-chemical state of liquid, the distribution of nucleation sites, and the density of nucleation sites for eutectic grains. In particular, it is found that the casting modulus (M), enabling determinations of minimum wall thickness for chilled castings or chill widths in wedge shaped castings can be related to the CT. Finally, the present work provides a rationatization for the effect of technological factors such as the chemistry of the melt, inoculation practice, holding temperature and time on the resultant CT and chill of the cast iron.