Effect of spheroidization of cementite in ductile cast iron

Basavaraj; Pavankumar R. Sondar; Subray R. Hegde

doi:10.1007/s12613-020-2041-0

Volume 28 Issue 3

Mar. 2021

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2021 > 28(3): 404-411

Basavaraj, Pavankumar R. Sondar, and Subray R. Hegde, Effect of spheroidization of cementite in ductile cast iron, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 28(2021), No. 3, pp. 404-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2041-0

Cite this article as:

Basavaraj, Pavankumar R. Sondar, and Subray R. Hegde, Effect of spheroidization of cementite in ductile cast iron, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 28(2021), No. 3, pp. 404-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2041-0

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Research Article

Effect of spheroidization of cementite in ductile cast iron

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Corresponding author:
Basavaraj E-mail: basavaraj.1si10me030@gmail.com
Received: 16 January 2020; Revised: 10 March 2020; Accepted: 12 March 2020; Available online: 14 March 2020

Abstract

Abstract

The research aims to provide an alternative to austempering treatment of ductile cast iron with a simple and cost-effective heat-treatment process. This goal was accomplished by applying a simple one-step spheroidization heat treatment to the as-cast ductile iron, which would normally possess a coarse pearlitic microstructure to a significant extent. Spheroidization experiments involving isothermal holding below the lower critical temperature (A1) were conducted followed by standard mechanical testing and microstructural characterization for an experimental ductile iron. After improving the spheroidization holding time at a given temperature, the work shows that the ductility and toughness of an as-cast ductile iron can be improved by 90% and 40%, respectively, at the cost of reducing the tensile strength by 8%. Controlled discretization of the continuous cementite network in pearlitic matrix of the ductile iron is deemed responsible for the improved properties. The work also shows that prolonged holding time during spheroidization heat treatment leads to degradation of mechanical properties due to the inhomogenous microstructure formation caused by heterogeneous decomposition and cementite clustering in the material. The main outcome of this work is the demonstration of ductile cast iron’s necking behavior due to spheroidization heat treatment.
- spheroidization;
- cementite;
- ductile iron;
- toughness;
- heat treatment

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References

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