Professional Documents
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INOCULATION
ISO 9001 ISO 14001 ISO/TS 16949
THE TECHNOLOGY OF GRAPHITE SHAPE CONTROL
Elkem manufactures and markets a
series of high quality inoculants to treat
cast iron and ensure the production of
an ideal graphite shape, distribution
and freedom from chill (cementite). All
inoculants are available in sizes suit-
able for ladle or in-stream additions.
This brochure describes some of the
conditions in the production of cast iron
that call for the addition of an inoculant
to ensure the reliable production of a
sound, strong, tough, machinable cast-
ing. The mechanism of inoculation and
graphite nucleation in cast iron during
solidification is also described.
CAST IRON
INOCULATION
What is Inoculation of Cast Iron?
THE TECHNOLOGY OF GRAPHITE SHAPE CONTROL
Inoculation is the means of controlling
structures and properties of cast iron
by minimizing undercooling and
increasing the number of nucleation
sites during solidification. An inoculant
is a material added to the liquid iron
just prior to casting that will provide
suitable sites for nucleation of graphite
during the subsequent cooling. Tradi-
tionally, inoculants have been based
on graphite, ferrosilicon or calcium
silicide. Almost exclusively, inoculants
today are ferrosilicon based containing
small quantities of active elements
such as Al, Ba, Ca, Sr, Zr and RE (Rare
Earth metals).
The purpose of inoculation is to assist
in providing sufficient nucleation sites
for dissolved carbon to precipitate
as graphite rather than iron carbide
(cementite, Fe
3
C). This is done by pre-
venting undercooling below the meta-
stable eutectic temperature where
carbidic (white) structures are formed.
The iron solidification mechanism is
prone to form chilled iron structures
when the inoculation is inadequate.
There are several reasons why chilled
structures are normally undesirable.
They are hard and brittle and interfere
with machining, necessitate additional
heat treatment operations, resulting in
nonconformance with specifications
and, in general, increase the total cost
of production.
Inoculation changes the structure of
cast iron by altering the solidification
process. A look at the solidification
process for hypoeutectic grey iron
(iron with a carbon equivalent less
than 4.3) helps in understanding the
effect of inoculation.
The first metal to solidify in hypoeutec-
tic grey iron is primary austenite. As
cooling continues, the remaining iron
grows richer in dissolved carbon. Even-
tually, the liquid reaches the eutectic
composition of 4.3% carbon equivalent,
at which final or eutectic solidification
would start under equilibrium conditions.
However, equilibrium solidification does
not occur under practical foundry con-
ditions. Due to variations in chemistry,
pouring temperature, solidification rate,
section thickness and other conditions,
the metal will cool below the eutectic
temperature before the start of final
solidification.
If the undercooling is slight, random
graphite flakes form uniformly in the
iron matrix, see Figure 1. This is known
as Type A graphite. As the undercooling
increases, the graphite will branch,
forming abnormal patterns. This is
known as Types B, D and E graphite.
A further increase in undercooling will
suppress the formation of graphite
and results in a hard white iron carbide
structure.
The role of the inoculant is to produce
nuclei in the liquid iron melt which
enhance the graphite nucleation with
a low degree of undercooling. This will
in turn, promote the formation of Type
A graphite structures in grey iron,
and a high number of small graphite
nodules in ductile iron.
1. Structure and Phases in Cast Iron
The structure of cast iron has a
domi nant influence on strength and
machinability, and in order to obtain a
machinable grey iron structure for thin
sections, the addition of an inoculant
to molten iron is widely practiced
and often absolutely necessary. For
convenience, potential difficulties with
machinability can be determined by
carrying out a hardness test (Brinell
hardness) on iron castings and, in
general, machinability improves with
decreasing hardness. The cast iron
structure can be influenced at two
distinct stages in the production route:
during solidification
during heat treatment
However, for economic reasons, the
desired structure should be achieved
during solidification without the neces-
sity for heat treatment.
Figure 1: Graphite type versus under-
cooling.
2. Structure Stability
The microstructure of an iron casting
consists of several phases, each having
varying levels of carbon, iron and other
elements present. Table 1 shows the
analysis and specific densities of the
solid and liquid phases which take
part in the solidification process. When
solidification is complete, the following
combination of phases may be found:
1) Austenite + Graphite
= GREY structure
2) Austenite + Graphite + Cementite
= MOTTLED structure
3) Austenite + Cementite
= WHITE structure
This review demonstrates that solidifi-
ca tion results in a minimum of two solid
phases; and austenite is present in all
the phase combinations. As the casting
cools, the austenite subsequently trans-
forms to pearlite and/or ferrite in solid
state (eutectoid transformation).
Of all the solid phases listed above,
cementite has the highest hardness
(~660 HB), whilst graphite is a rela-
tively soft material of low density, which
can act as a lubricant. Hardness and
machinability of the as-cast structure
are, therefore, influenced by the relative
amounts of cementite and graphite, with
austenite playing only a minor role.
A metastable white or mottled structure
can be transformed into a stable grey
structure by annealing, but the reverse
transformation is not possible as the
stable structure represents the lowest
possible energy level (at a given
temperature and composition). The
graphite produced by annealing will
have a different structure to that formed
during solidification. Cementite,
austenite and liquid iron have similar
densities and all contain carbon in
solution, see Table 1. No major redistri-
bution of the atom species is required
for a white structure to be produced
during solidification. However, the
formation of a stable grey structure
containing graphite is quite different.
Graphite precipitated from molten iron
is virtually pure carbon, and since it
has a lower specific density than the
alternative phases; a major redistri-
bution of atoms is required to develop
a stable structure. A slow rate of soli-
dification is therefore more likely to
produce a grey iron structure.
The precipitation of cementite, re quir ing
less atom redistribution than graphite,
will be more likely during rapid solidi-
fication. This can be demonstrated by
examining a typical wedge test speci-
men. The narrow tip of the wedge soli-
difies at a faster rate than the thicker
section at the base of the wedge, and
will show a white structure whilst the
area of slow cooling at the base will
display a grey structure, see Figure 2.
Consequently, a slow rate of solidifi-
cation (slow cooling rate) and a small
value of undercooling encourages the
formation of a grey structure with good
machinability and discourages a hard
white structure.
Within the composition of cast iron,
graphitizing elements will promote the
carbon-carbon bond to produce graph-
ite in the as-cast structure, whereas
carbide stabilizing elements promote
the carboniron bond and cementite will
appear in the structure. Table 2 lists a
number of such stabilizing elements.
As an example, in malleable cast irons
the need for the as-cast structure to
solidify white determines that the silicon
level is much lower than in grey irons.
Also, since chromium is a carbide
promoting element, it has to be kept at
a low level to allow transformation to a
graphitic structure during subsequent
heat treatment. In normal furnace
charge materials, steel and external
cast iron scrap may be heterogeneous
materials, especially on different delive-
ries, with contents of Cr, Cu, Sn, Sb, V,
Mo, Ti, etc., depending on the original
source and ultimately on the ability of
the scrap dealer.
Pig iron produced from steel scrap can
also display a similar variable response
to inoculation due to fluctuating trace
element contents. A more consistent
response to inoculation is attainable by
adopting a charge containing a reason-
able proportion of ore-based pig iron
due to its low level of trace elements of
the carbide stabilising type.
Controlling the concentration of trace
elements allows the foundryman a means
of promoting grey as-cast structures
and, also, helps in avoiding other un-
desirable effects of trace elements on
microstructure and properties.
Table 1: Approximate analysis and
specific densities of phases in the
solidification range of cast iron with
2.4% Si.
Figure 2: Chill Wedge with fast solidifying
white tip and slowly cooled grey base.
Table 2: Graphitizing and carbide
promoting elements.
3. Influence of Elements on As-Cast Structure
4. Influence of Nuclei on Solidfication Structure
When crystallisation of eutectic cast
iron in chilled specimens is studied,
a gradual advance of the solidification
front is revealed. Transformation does not
take place instantaneously or uniformly
over a cross section. Initial solidification
occurs at the surface from distinct
crystallization centres and after some
time a solid/liquid interface forms. Other
isolated crystallisation centres are
active in the remaining melt and initiate
the formation of solid, see Figures 3
and 4. These isolated areas are called
eutectic cells.
Eventually, cells grow at the expense
of the liquid, and a solid cast structure
develops. Each eutectic cell consists of
graphite and austenite with graphite as
the primary phase.
Precipitation is initiated by randomly
distributed crystallisation centres, called
nuclei. These nuclei offer favourable sites
for the deposition of carbon atoms and,
subsequently, precipitation of graphite
and austenite onto existing graphite
continues. The morphology of these cells
for grey iron shows a marked difference
with that for nodular iron, as can be
seen from Figure 3.
Grey iron: graphite lamellae start
growing from a common centre and
stays in contact with the melt as aus-
tenite fills the spaces between
the lamellae.
Nodular iron: a graphite nodule forms
first and is surrounded by austenite at
a later stage.
In eutectic nodular iron, the nodule
number is virtually identical with the
number of eutectic cells.
The mechanism described is for eutectic
solidification and is not influenced by
the presence of kish (primary) graphite
or austenite dendrites.
The nuclei substances can be more easily
observed in nodular graphite iron than
in grey iron, since it is easy to locate the
centre of a graphite spheroid. Measure-
ments have shown that the nuclei are
between 0.5 to 2.0 microns in diameter,
with a bulk chemical composition of
magnesium sulphide and magnesium
silicate. A similar investigation of nuclei
composition for grey iron has shown that
the nucleus has a core of a complex
aluminium-X-oxide where X can be
Ca, Ba, Sr, Ce, Zr surrounded by the
manganese sulphide.
5. Prerequisites for Successful Inoculation
5.1 Number of Nuclei
About 2.4wt% graphite and 97.6wt%
austenite are formed during the crystal-
lization of eutectic (nodular) cast iron,
which corresponds to approximately
8 vol% graphite and 92 vol% austenite.
The mean diameter of graphite nodules
is usually between 10 80 microns,
although lower and higher values are
possible. This leads to about 3000 to
30,000 nodules per cubic millimetre
depending on the section size (cooling
rate) of the casting. The total number of
possible nuclei for graphite (inclusions)
will be at least one order of magnitude
larger than this graphite nodule density.
This means that the number of inclusions
or possible nuclei for graphite is at least
100,000 per cubic millimetre and that
only a small fraction of these nuclei
actually nucleates graphite during
solidification
1
. Table 3 gives examples
of number densities and mean particle
sizes for nuclei and graphite nodules in
ductile cast iron under various inocula-
tion conditions. As can be seen from
the table, the number and mean size of
nuclei particles are unaffected by the
inoculant addition, although the nodule
characteristics obtained after solidifi-
cation are strongly dependent on the
type of inoculant used. These findings
will be discussed below.
The calculations used to generate these
figures contain certain assumptions,
but one can safely conclude that:
The number of nuclei per volume of
melt is extremely high, and approxi-
mately one order of magnitude larger
than the number of graphite nodules
actually nucleated;
The ability of the particles to nucleate
graphite is strongly affected by the
inoculant addition.
In order to obtain a nucleation event, a
certain degree of undercooling during
solidification is required. But since
different nuclei phases initiate graphite
nucleation at different undercooling
levels, it is preferable to have a large
number of nuclei particles which can
initiate nucleation at very small under-
cooling. This is achieved by the addition
of an inoculant to the melt just prior to
casting.
Figure 4: Solidification of near eutetic
iron
2
.
Figure 3: Eutetic cells: lamellar (top),
nodular (bottom) graphite .
Austenite
Graphite
Graphite
Austenite
5.2 Constituents of an inoculant
Most of the inoculant material is so-
called carrier material that is doped
with a minor additive (nucleant),
which produces nucleating particles
in the iron melt. These particles will, in
turn, initiate the crystallization of graph-
ite. The carrier (e.g. silicon and iron
combined as ferrosilicon) should have
the following characteristics:
provide fast and homogeneous distri -
bution of the nucleant in the melt
have a composition that is compat ible
to the analysis of the melt
form an alloy between the nucleant
and the carrier
be cost efficient
Trials using very pure ferrosilicon as an
inoculant have demonstrated that it
does not have any nucleating effect for
graphite
1,3,4
as shown in Table 3.
The nucleant, e.g. Ca, Sr, Ba or Al only
needs a limited presence and it is
beneficial if the nucleant forms an alloy
with the carrier. Also, the nucleant must
have a limited solubility in cast iron,
and form stable compounds with the
other elements forming the nuclei par-
ticles (e.g. sulphur and oxygen). Good
nucleation effect may be achieved if
the ferrosilicon contains small but con-
trolled amounts of calcium, strontium or
barium in the range of 0.6 to 2.0%.
Table 3: Example of nuclei and nodule
number densities, average
diameters and volume fractions
1
.
5.3 Composition of the Nuclei
in Ductile Iron
Laboratory test results are used in this
section to explain the role of calcium
as an example of a trace element
behaving as the nucleant in ferrosilicon.
Calcium will occur in ferrosilicon as a
silicide (CaSi
2
). Calcium has virtually no
solubility in iron, and reacts with com-
ponents in the melt to form sulphides
and oxides.
In magnesium treated cast irons, the
inclusions contain mainly magnesium,
calcium, sulphur, silicon and oxygen.
These are primary reaction products
of the magnesium treatment. The
inclusions are composed of a sulphide
core and a faceted outer silicate shell.
The sulphide core contains both MgS
and CaS, while the outer shell con-
sists of complex magnesium silicates
(e.g. MgOSiO
2
, 2MgOSiO
2
). These
phases will not act as potent nucleation
sites for graphite during solidification
because of a large nucleus/ graphite
interfacial energy barrier. The interfacial
energy barrier is the controlling factor in
heterogeneous nucleation behaviour.
Figure 5: Transmission electron
micrograph of duplex sulphide/oxide
inclusion in ductile iron (left).
Schematic representation of an inclu-
sion after inoculation by a calcium
containing ferrosilicon. The surface
layer of calcium silicate is the effective
phase for graphite nucleation (right).
1
After inoculation with a Ca-containing
ferrosilicon, hexagonal silicate phases of
the CaOSiO
2
and the CaOAl
2
O
3
2SiO
2
type will form at the surface of the exis-
ting oxide inclusions produced during
nodularisation. These silicates will act
as very favourable nucleation sites for
graphite during solidification, due to
their hexagonal crystal structure, which
matches the graphite crystal lattice
very well (i.e. low energy interface).
Figure 5 shows a typical inclusion in
ductile cast iron which is formed after
nodularisation (left), and a schematic
representation of the inclusion compo-
sition after inoculation (right). The sur-
face shell contains hexagonal calcium
silicates formed during inoculant addi-
tion, while the bulk particle is a product
of the nodularisation treatment. Hence,
the inoculation does not increase the
total number of nuclei particles in the
melt, but rather modifies the surface of
the already existing products from nod-
ularisation. This explains why the num-
ber density of particles in uninoculated
and inoculated ductile iron melts are
the same (Table 3), while the resulting
nodule numbers will differ greatly due
to the inclusion surface modification.
When inoculation is carried out with
a strontium or barium containing ferro-
silicon inoculating hexagonal silicates
equivalent to the calcium silicates
(CaOSiO
2
and CaOAl
2
O
3
2SiO
2
) will
be formed (i.e. SrOSiO
2
, SrOAl
2
O
3
2SiO, BaOSiO
2
and BaOAl
2
O
3
2SiO
2
)
5.4 Composition of nuclei in grey iron
Recent research results have identified
a three step nucleation process for
generating graphite flakes in grey iron.
By means of electron microscope in-
vestigations, it has been revealed that
a nucleus for a graphite flake consists
of a particle with a body of manganese-
and calcium-sulphide surrounding a
nucleus core of complex Al
2
O
3
XO
oxides, see Figure 6. The core oxide
contains elements such as calcium,
barium, strontium, zirconium, and rare
earth elements. Towards the surface
of the manganese/calcium-sulphide
body, even more complex compounds
have been observed on which the
graphite has grown.
The hypothesis is that the oxides form
as stable elements in the iron melt first.
Secondly, manganese and calcium
sulphides grow on these oxides until
a desired size and a more complex
faceted compound appears on the sur-
face. The third step is that the graphite
starts to grow on this faceted surface
and grows along its base planes of
hexagonal structure.
One interesting observation was that
aluminium seems to play a key role in
the nucleation process in conjunction
with other elements. Testing of iron with
very low levels of aluminium showed
poorer performance than iron with a
certain level of aluminium. It can be
concluded that final content of alu-
minium in grey iron should be between
0.005 and 0.010% in order to maximise
eutectic cell count in grey iron. This
aluminium content range is and has to
be less than the 0.015 0.25% Al, as
this range for pin-hole susceptibility
influenced by aluminium.
As a result of these observations, Elkem
has invented the Preseed
precondi-
tioner that contains zirconium and
aluminium, to be added to the iron melt
in the furnace or well ahead of inocula-
tion, in order to increase the potency
of the melt for inoculation
Figure 6: Transmission electron micrographs of complex sulphide/oxide inclusion in grey iron and profile of chemical
composition through the nucleus.
Table 4: Elkem preconditioner, inoculants and inserts for grey and ductile irons.
5.5 Specification of Inoculants
The chemical composition and reliability
of the analysis from lot to lot is important
if a ferroalloy is to be considered as a
good and consistent inoculant. Many
foundrymen insist on silicon and phos-
phorus analyses in pig iron, but pay little
attention to the analysis of the inoculant,
or vice versa. The preceding paragraphs
indicate quite clearly that the minor
constituents in ferroalloys, not the major
constituents (usually sili con), are critical
for the performance as inoculants. All the
Elkem inoculants are alloys that have
been smelted and alloyed to the quoted
specifications, and with the exception
of Ultraseed
, Barinoc
, Elcast
, Foundrisil
,Reseed
, SMZ
, Superseed
, Ultraseed
, Vaxon
and Zircinoc
are registered trademarks owned by Elkem AS. Preseed is a trademark of Elkem AS.
6. Control of Inoculation
6.2 Chill Testing
The traditional method to determine the
tendency of a melt to solidify grey or
white is by examining chill wedges.
The larger the zone of white iron, the
fewer the number of nuclei that were
active in initiating a grey solidification.
Figure 8 shows chill wedges from a
foundry which had an average 11.2 mm
of chill for a period of two week on un-
inoculated cupola iron. By adding 0.2%
FeSi (85% Si), the average chill depth
was reduced and with 0.125% Super-
seed
inoculant
produces a high initial number of
nucleation sites throughout the holding
period, thus making it an excellent
inoculant for ladle treatments.
Foundrisil
inoculant is an effective
chill reducer for both low and high
sulphur grey iron as well as ductile
iron. Another effective inoculant that
maintains the inoculation effect is the
strontium-containing Superseed
inoculant. Figure 10 shows the fading
characteristics of some inoculants in
cast iron.
Figure 10: Fading characteristics for
various inoculants in cast iron.
Figure 11: Increasing inoculant
additions improve tensile strength.
The final analyses of these trial melts
are identical after inoculation.
Figure 9: Coarsening behaviour of
inclusions in liquid cast iron during
holding.
Figure 12: The wall thickness sensi-
tivity of (Brinell) hardness can be
reduced by an inoculant (partly calcu-
lated from Rockwell -B* and -C**).
9. Inoculation and Shrinkage
The solidification of grey iron is charac-
terized by the formation of a skin type
array of eutectic cells at the mould/metal
interface, followed by the development
of eutectic cells ahead of the advancing
solidification front. Newly formed graphite
compensates partly or fully for the liquid
iron contraction, provided it precipitates
within a relatively rigid skin, which is
charac teristic of uninoculated grey iron.
How ever, if the mode of solidification is
changed, the good shrinkage character-
istics can be jeopardized, especially if
a rigid skin cannot be developed at the
mould/metal interface leaving the mould
directly exposed to ferrostatic pressure.
Eventually, the mould may yield under the
ferrostatic pressure from the remaining
liquid, and the increased volume of the
mould cavity becomes too high for com-
pensation by graphite precipitation at the
end of solidification. Some shrinkage may
occur as a result of excessive dilation of
the mould although mould geometry
will have an influence.
Unfortunately, inoculation changes the
mode of solidification in such a way that
the rigidity of the skin is decreased.
Inoculant additions should not become
excessive to avoid shrinkage and yet the
addition should be adequate to ensure
grey solidification. Test specimens,
Figure 13, show that for an equivalent
chill depth, the eutectic cell count will be
lower when using Superseed
inocu lant
in place of foundry grade ferrosilicon.
The lower cell count reduces the ferro-
static pressure on the mould and impro-
ves the tendency to avoid shrinkage
defects.
Since the eutectic cell count for nodular
cast iron is much higher than for grey iron,
one would expect a greater shrinkage
tendency, and it is interesting to see
that the solidification pattern is in fact
similar to over-inoculated grey iron.
Ultraseed
inoculant on raising nodule count and
improving chill protection, it has been
found that the tendency to shrinkage
formation is also reduced with this ino-
culant. Especially, the type of shrinkage
that often occurs as small porosities in
hot-spot sections of the complex cast-
ings; appear to be effec tively reduced
or even eliminated by Ultraseed
inocu-
lant. Figure 14 shows an example of
microshrinkage porosity that has been
minimized by the use of Ultraseed
inoculant.
Figure 13: Comparison of the eutectic
cell count in 5 mm sections at about
equal chill depth (from BCIRA).
Figure 14: Example of micro-shrinkage prorosity in ductile iron part that has been
minimized by Ultraseed
,Ultraseed
,
Reseed
and Alinoc
inoculants.
Development of new improved alloys
goes on continuously.
Recently, Preseed
preconditioner
has been added to the portfolio as a
novel preconditioner to enhance ino-
culation effect.
For further information on Elkems
extensive range of inoculants, please
contact your local representative. The
success of Elkem products worldwide
justifies their elaborate development
and provides a sound base for the
foundryman to select the appropriate
inoculant for his foundrys particular
requirements.
10. Product Development
References:
1) Skaland, T.: Ph.D Thesis, The Norwegian Inst. of Tech., 1992
2) Engler, S.: Giesserei, techn.-wiss.Beih., 17(1965), p 169/202
3) Moore, A.: Brit.Foundrym. 68 (1974) March, p59/69 Patterson, V.H; Foundry 100 (1972) June, p 68/71
4) Riposan et al: Investigation of the Effect of Residual Aluminium on Solidification Characteristics of Un-inoculated Ca/Sr-Inoculated Gray Irons. AFS 2004