Abrasive Wear of Compacted Graphite Cast Iron with Added Tin

Abstract

The abrasive wear behavior of traditional compacted graphite cast iron (CGI) and compacted graphite cast iron with 0.1% tin addition (CGI–Sn) is studied using a pin-on-disk tribometer. The microstructures of these two CGIs were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that Sn reduces the average size of vermicular graphite and promotes the generation of pearlite. Sn narrows the average lamellar spacing of pearlite. In the wear tests, CGI–Sn yields a decreased wear loss by 16.5% compared with CGI. Both CGI and CGI–Sn show typical abrasive worn morphology, while CGI presents a more severe wear condition in which large fragmentations can be seen. Under the current test condition, Sn is likely to improve the abrasive wear resistance of compacted graphite iron. Further studies of the specific working conditions are needed, such as testing against frictional material in braking systems, to check the validity of the findings.