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Alloy Cast Irons

Revised by Richard B. Gundlach, Climax Research Services; and Douglas V. Doane, Consulting Metallurgist

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Classification of Alloy Cast Irons

Alloy cast irons can be classified as white cast irons, corrosion-resistant cast irons, and heat-resistant cast irons.

White cast irons, so named because of their characteristically white fracture surfaces, do not have any graphite in their
microstructures. Instead, the carbon is present in the form of carbides, chiefly of the types Fe 3C and Cr7C3. Often, complex
carbides such as (Fe,Cr)3C and (Cr,Fe)7C3, or those containing other carbide-forming elements, are also present.

White cast irons are usually very hard, which is the single property most responsible for their excellent resistance to
abrasive wear. White iron can be produced either throughout the section (chiefly by adjusting the composition) or only
partly inward from the surface (chiefly by casting against a chill). The latter iron is sometimes referred to as chilled iron to
distinguish it from iron that is white throughout.

Chilled iron castings are produced by casting the molten metal against a metal or graphite chill, resulting in a surface
virtually free from graphitic carbon. In the production of chilled iron, the composition is selected so that only the surfaces
cast against the chill will be free from graphitic carbon (Fig. 1). The more slowly cooled portions of the casting will be gray
or mottled iron. The depth and hardness of the chilled portion can be controlled by adjusting the composition of the metal,
the extent of inoculation, and the pouring temperature.

Fig. 1 Fracture surface of as-cast chilled iron. White, mottled, and gray portions are shown at full size, top to
bottom.

White iron is a cast iron virtually free from graphitic carbon because of selected chemical composition. The composition is
chosen so that, for the desired section size, graphite does not form as the casting solidifies. The hardness of white iron
castings can be controlled by further adjustment of composition.

The main difference in microstructure between chilled iron and white iron is that chilled iron is fine grained and exhibits
directionality perpendicular to the chilled face, while white iron is ordinarily coarse grained, randomly oriented, and white
throughout, even in relatively heavy sections. (Fine-grain white iron can be produced by casting a white iron composition
against a chill.) This difference reflects the effect of composition difference between the two types of abrasion-resistant
iron. Chilled iron is directional only because the casting, made of a composition that is ordinarily gray, has been cooled
through the eutectic temperature so rapidly at one or more faces that the iron solidified white, growing inward from the
chilled face. White iron, on the other hand, has a composition so low in carbon equivalent or so rich in alloy content that
gray iron cannot be produced even at the relatively low rates of cooling that exist in the center of the heaviest section of the
casting.

Corrosion-resistant irons derive their resistance to chemical attack chiefly from their high alloy content. Depending on
which of three alloying elements--silicon, chromium, or nickel--dominates the composition, a corrosion-resistant iron can
be ferritic, pearlitic, martensitic, or austenitic in its microstructure. Depending on composition, cooling rate, and inoculation
practice, a corrosion-resistant iron can be white, gray, or nodular in both form and distribution of carbon.

Heat-resistant irons combine resistance to high-temperature oxidation and scaling with resistance to softening or
microstructural degradation. Resistance to scaling depends chiefly on high alloy content, and resistance to softening
depends on the initial microstructure plus the stability of the carbon-containing phase. Heat-resistant irons are usually
ferritic or austenitic as-cast; carbon exists predominantly as graphite, either in flake or spherulitic form, which subdivides
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heat-resistant irons into either gray or ductile irons. There are also ferritic and austenitic white iron grades, although they
are less frequently used and have no American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) designations.
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