CARBON FORMATION

Factor that affect the cast iron

1. Cooling rate.
2. Element.
3. Heat treatment.

Cooling Rate

A high rate of cooling during solidification tends to favour theformation of cementite rather than
graphite. That is, the higherthe rate of cooling for any given cast-iron composition the'whiter' and
more brittle the casting is likely to be. This effect is important in connection with the choice of a
suitable iron for theproduction of castings of thin section. Supposing an iron which,when cooled
slowly, had a fine grey structure containing smalleutectic cells were chosen for such a purpose. In
thin sections itwould cool so rapidly that cementite would form in preference to graphite and a thin
section of completely white iron wouldresult. Such a section would be brittle and useless.

Element

Carbon 

Higher is the carbon, more is graphite formed and lowerthe mechanical properties. Carbons lower
the melting point of metaland act a graphitiser to favour the formation of gray cast iron

Silicon

1. Silicon is added to cast irons in the range of 1% to 4% in order to increase the amount of
under-cooling required for the formation of cementite and promote the formation of
graphite during solidification.
2. Influence fluidity
3. Graphitizer agent
4. Cooling rate control to decomposed carbide eutectic
5. Silicon promotes the precipitation of secondary graphite on the primary graphite during the
eutectoid transformation, which results in large areas of ferrite (commonly called “free
ferrite”) around the graphite particles.

Sulfur

– High sulfur tend to reduce fluidity and some ime responsible for blow hole

Manganese

– Manganese is carbide stabilizer

Phosphorus

Most cast iron contain phosphorus between .1 to . 3%.Its amount may be more than .9%, then it
forms iron phosphide (Fe3P), which form a ternary eutectic with cementite and austenite. The
ternary Eutectic is called steadite. Steadite is brittle and has a melting point of around 960 degree.
This increase the fluidity also helps in giving good castability to the thin and intricate casting, where
low melting fluid could easily flow. However for thick and high strength cast iron casting, brittle
steadite can be avoided by maintaining phosphorus less than 0.3%, which shall be present in dissolve
state in ferrite.

Heat treatment

White cast iron to malleable cast iron by graphitization and cooling.

Cementite (iron carbide) is actually a metastable phase. There is atendency for cementite to
decompose into iron and carbon, but undernormal conditions it tends to persist indefinitely in its
original form.Up to this point, cementite has been treated as a stable phase; however,this tendency
to form free carbon is the basis for the manufacture ofmalleable cast iron. The reaction Fe3 C 3Fe +
C is favoured byelevated temperatures, the existence of solid non metallic impurities,higher carbon
contents, and the presence of elements that aid thedecomposition of Fe3 C On the iron—iron
carbide equilibrium diagramfor the metastable system, shown in Figure. 16, are superimposed
thephase boundaries of the stable iron-carbon (graphite) system as dottedlines. The purpose of
malleabilization is to convert all the combinedcarbon in white iron into irregular nodules of tamper
carbon (graphite)and ferrite. Commercially, this process is carried out in two stepsknown as the first
and second stages of the anneal.

White irons suitable for conversion to malleable iron are of the following range of composition:

Components Percentage
Carbon 2.00-2.65
Silicon 0.90-1.40
Manganese 0.25-0.55
Phosphorus Less than 0.18
sulphur 0.05

In the first-stage annealing, the white-iron casting is slowly reheated toa temperature between 1660
and 1750°F. During heating, the pearlite isconverted to austenite at the lower critical line. The
austenite thusformed dissolves some additional cementite as heated to the annealingtemperature.

The rate of annealing depends on chemical composition, nucleationtendency, and temperature of

annealing. The temperature of first-stageannealing exerts considerable influence on the number of
temper-carbon particles produced. Increasing annealing temperature acceleratesthe rate
decomposition of primary carbide and produces more graphite particles per unit area.However,high
first-stage annealing temperatures result in excessive distortion of castings during annealingand the
need for-straightening operations after heat treatment. Annealing temperatures are adjusted to
provide maximum practical annealing rates and minimum distortion and are therefore controlled
between 1650 and 1750°F. The white-iron casting is held at the first-stage annealing temperature
until all massive carbides have beendecomposed. Since graphitization is a relatively slow process, the
casting must be soaked at temperature for at least 20 h, and large loadsmay require as much as 72 h.
The structure at completion of first-stage graphitization consists of temper-carbon nodules
distributed throughoutthe matrix of saturated austenite.

After first-stage annealing, the castings are cooled as rapidly aspractical to about 1400°F in
preparation for the second stage of theannealing treatment. The fast cooling cycle usually requires 2
to 6 h,depending on the equipment used.In the second-stage annealing, the castings are cooled
slowly at a rate of 5 to 15°F/h through the critical range at which the eutectoid reaction would take
place. During the slow cooling, the carbon dissolved in the austenite is converted to graphite on the
existing temper-carbonparticles, and the remaining austenite transforms into ferrite. Once
graphitization is complete, no further structural changes take placeduring cooling to room
temperature, and the structure consists oftemper-carbon nodules in a ferrite matrix.This type is
known as standard or Ferritic malleable iron.