Effect of cooling rate and aluminium addition on graphite growth during solidification and graphitization

Abstract

Even using high inoculation levels, mottled structures are often obtained when casting Mg-treated cast irons in thin wall parts. For full graphitization of the cast components, this calls for a subsequent heat-treatment which is generally achieved in the austenite field. The aim of this work was investigating the impact of the process and the cooling rate on the graphite structure for two different casting conditions. The influence of the cooling rate on graphite degeneracy due to the presence of impurity was also investigated considering low-level additions of aluminium. Extensive metallographic investigation has been carried out from which it is concluded that the internal graphite structure is the same for the two studied cooling conditions. Accordingly, the growth mechanism of graphite should be the same when it precipitates from liquid, during eutectic reaction or else solid-state graphitization. Finally, microanalyses suggest magnesium and aluminium do not interact in the same way with graphite during its growth.