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Cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys
with a carbon content more than 2%.[1] Its
usefulness derives from its relatively low
melting temperature. The alloy
constituents affect its color when
fractured; white cast iron has carbide
impurities which allow cracks to pass
straight through, grey cast iron has
graphite flakes which deflect a passing Examples of cast iron
crack and initiate countless new cracks as
the material breaks, and ductile cast iron
has spherical graphite "nodules" which stop the crack from further progressing.

Carbon (C), ranging from 1.8 to 4 wt%, and silicon (Si), 1–3 wt%, are the main alloying elements of
cast iron. Iron alloys with lower carbon content are known as steel.

Cast iron tends to be brittle, except for malleable cast irons. With its relatively low melting point, good
fluidity, castability, excellent machinability, resistance to deformation and wear resistance, cast irons
have become an engineering material with a wide range of applications and are used in pipes,
machines and automotive industry parts, such as cylinder heads, cylinder blocks and gearbox cases. It
is resistant to damage by oxidation but is notoriously difficult to weld.

The earliest cast-iron artefacts date to the 5th century BC, and were discovered by archaeologists in
what is now Jiangsu, China. Cast iron was used in ancient China for warfare, agriculture, and
architecture.[2] During the 15th century AD, cast iron became utilized for cannon in Burgundy, France,
and in England during the Reformation. The amounts of cast iron used for cannons required large-
scale production.[3] The first cast-iron bridge was built during the 1770s by Abraham Darby III, and is
known as the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England. Cast iron was also used in the construction of
buildings.

Production
Cast iron is made from pig iron, which is the product of melting iron ore in a blast furnace. Cast iron
can be made directly from the molten pig iron or by re-melting pig iron,[4] often along with substantial
quantities of iron, steel, limestone, carbon (coke) and taking various steps to remove undesirable
contaminants. Phosphorus and sulfur may be burnt out of the molten iron, but this also burns out the
carbon, which must be replaced. Depending on the application, carbon and silicon content are
adjusted to the desired levels, which may be anywhere from 2–3.5% and 1–3%, respectively. If
desired, other elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting.

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Cast iron is sometimes melted in a special type of blast furnace known as a cupola, but in modern
applications, it is more often melted in electric induction furnaces or electric arc furnaces.[5] After
melting is complete, the molten cast iron is poured into a holding furnace or ladle.

Types

Alloying elements

Cast iron's properties are changed by adding various alloying

elements, or alloyants. Next to carbon, silicon is the most
important alloyant because it forces carbon out of solution. A low
percentage of silicon allows carbon to remain in solution forming
iron carbide and the production of white cast iron. A high
percentage of silicon forces carbon out of solution forming
graphite and the production of grey cast iron. Other alloying
agents, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, titanium and
vanadium counteracts silicon, promotes the retention of carbon, Iron-cementite meta-stable
and the formation of those carbides. Nickel and copper increase diagram
strength, and machinability, but do not change the amount of
graphite formed. The carbon in the form of graphite results in a
softer iron, reduces shrinkage, lowers strength, and decreases density. Sulfur, largely a contaminant
when present, forms iron sulfide, which prevents the formation of graphite and increases hardness.
The problem with sulfur is that it makes molten cast iron viscous, which causes defects. To counter the
effects of sulfur, manganese is added because the two form into manganese sulfide instead of iron
sulfide. The manganese sulfide is lighter than the melt, so it tends to float out of the melt and into the
slag. The amount of manganese required to neutralize sulfur is 1.7 × sulfur content + 0.3%. If more
than this amount of manganese is added, then manganese carbide forms, which increases hardness
and chilling, except in grey iron, where up to 1% of manganese increases strength and density.[6]

Nickel is one of the most common alloying elements because it refines the pearlite and graphite
structure, improves toughness, and evens out hardness differences between section thicknesses.
Chromium is added in small amounts to reduce free graphite, produce chill, and because it is a
powerful carbide stabilizer; nickel is often added in conjunction. A small amount of tin can be added
as a substitute for 0.5% chromium. Copper is added in the ladle or in the furnace, on the order of 0.5–
2.5%, to decrease chill, refine graphite, and increase fluidity. Molybdenum is added on the order of
0.3–1% to increase chill and refine the graphite and pearlite structure; it is often added in conjunction
with nickel, copper, and chromium to form high strength irons. Titanium is added as a degasser and
deoxidizer, but it also increases fluidity. 0.15–0.5% vanadium is added to cast iron to stabilize
cementite, increase hardness, and increase resistance to wear and heat. 0.1–0.3% zirconium helps to
form graphite, deoxidize, and increase fluidity.[6]

In malleable iron melts, bismuth is added, on the scale of 0.002–0.01%, to increase how much silicon
can be added. In white iron, boron is added to aid in the production of malleable iron; it also reduces
the coarsening effect of bismuth.[6]

Grey cast iron

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Grey cast iron is characterised by its graphitic microstructure,

which causes fractures of the material to have a grey appearance.
It is the most commonly used cast iron and the most widely used
cast material based on weight. Most cast irons have a chemical
composition of 2.5–4.0% carbon, 1–3% silicon, and the remainder
iron. Grey cast iron has less tensile strength and shock resistance
than steel, but its compressive strength is comparable to low- and
medium-carbon steel. These mechanical properties are controlled
by the size and shape of the graphite flakes present in the Pair of English firedogs, 1576.
microstructure and can be characterised according to the These, with firebacks, were
guidelines given by the ASTM.[7] common early uses of cast iron, as
little strength in the metal was
needed.
White cast iron

White cast iron displays white fractured surfaces due to the presence of an iron carbide precipitate
called cementite. With a lower silicon content (graphitizing agent) and faster cooling rate, the carbon
in white cast iron precipitates out of the melt as the metastable phase cementite, Fe3C, rather than
graphite. The cementite which precipitates from the melt forms as relatively large particles. As the
iron carbide precipitates out, it withdraws carbon from the original melt, moving the mixture toward
one that is closer to eutectic, and the remaining phase is the lower iron-carbon austenite (which on
cooling might transform to martensite). These eutectic carbides are much too large to provide the
benefit of what is called precipitation hardening (as in some steels, where much smaller cementite
precipitates might inhibit [plastic deformation] by impeding the movement of dislocations through
the pure iron ferrite matrix). Rather, they increase the bulk hardness of the cast iron simply by virtue
of their own very high hardness and their substantial volume fraction, such that the bulk hardness can
be approximated by a rule of mixtures. In any case, they offer hardness at the expense of toughness.
Since carbide makes up a large fraction of the material, white cast iron could reasonably be classified
as a cermet. White iron is too brittle for use in many structural components, but with good hardness
and abrasion resistance and relatively low cost, it finds use in such applications as the wear surfaces
(impeller and volute) of slurry pumps, shell liners and lifter bars in ball mills and autogenous grinding
mills, balls and rings in coal pulverisers, and the teeth of a backhoe's digging bucket (although cast
medium-carbon martensitic steel is more common for this application).

It is difficult to cool thick castings fast enough to solidify the melt as white cast iron all the way
through. However, rapid cooling can be used to solidify a shell of white cast iron, after which the
remainder cools more slowly to form a core of grey cast iron. The resulting casting, called a chilled
casting, has the benefits of a hard surface with a somewhat tougher interior.

High-chromium white iron alloys allow massive castings (for example, a 10-tonne impeller) to be sand
cast, as the chromium reduces cooling rate required to produce carbides through the greater
thicknesses of material. Chromium also produces carbides with impressive abrasion resistance.[8]
These high-chromium alloys attribute their superior hardness to the presence of chromium carbides.
The main form of these carbides are the eutectic or primary M7C3 carbides, where "M" represents iron
or chromium and can vary depending on the alloy's composition. The eutectic carbides form as
bundles of hollow hexagonal rods and grow perpendicular to the hexagonal basal plane. The hardness
of these carbides are within the range of 1500-1800HV.[9]

Malleable cast iron

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Malleable iron starts as a white iron casting that is then heat treated for a day or two at about 950 °C
(1,740 °F) and then cooled over a day or two. As a result, the carbon in iron carbide transforms into
graphite and ferrite plus carbon. The slow process allows the surface tension to form the graphite into
spheroidal particles rather than flakes. Due to their lower aspect ratio, the spheroids are relatively
short and far from one another, and have a lower cross section vis-a-vis a propagating crack or
phonon. They also have blunt boundaries, as opposed to flakes, which alleviates the stress
concentration problems found in grey cast iron. In general, the properties of malleable cast iron are
more like those of mild steel. There is a limit to how large a part can be cast in malleable iron, as it is
made from white cast iron.

Ductile cast iron

Developed in 1948, nodular or ductile cast iron has its graphite in the form of very tiny nodules with
the graphite in the form of concentric layers forming the nodules. As a result, the properties of ductile
cast iron are that of a spongy steel without the stress concentration effects that flakes of graphite
would produce. The carbon percentage present is 3-4% and percentage of silicon is 1.8-2.8%.Tiny
amounts of 0.02 to 0.1% magnesium, and only 0.02 to 0.04% cerium added to these alloys slow the
growth of graphite precipitates by bonding to the edges of the graphite planes. Along with careful

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control of other elements and timing, this allows the carbon to separate as spheroidal particles as the
material solidifies. The properties are similar to malleable iron, but parts can be cast with larger
sections.

Table of comparative qualities of cast irons

Comparative qualities of cast irons[10]

Yield
Nominal Tensile Hardness
Form and strength Elongation
Name composition strength [Brinell Uses
condition [ksi (0.2% [%]
[% by weight] [ksi] scale]
offset)]

Engine cylinder
blocks,
Grey cast
C 3.4, Si 1.8, flywheels,
iron (ASTM Cast — 50 0.5 260
Mn 0.5 gearbox cases,
A48)
machine-tool
bases

White cast C 3.4, Si 0.7, Cast (as Bearing

— 25 0 450
iron Mn 0.6 cast) surfaces
Axle bearings,
Malleable
C 2.5, Si 1.0, Cast track wheels,
iron (ASTM 33 52 12 130
Mn 0.55 (annealed) automotive
A47)
crankshafts

Ductile or C 3.4, P 0.1, Gears,

nodular Mn 0.4, Ni 1.0, Cast 53 70 18 170 camshafts,
iron Mg 0.06 crankshafts

Ductile or
Cast
nodular
— (quench 108 135 5 310 —
iron (ASTM
tempered)
A339)
C 2.7, Si 0.6,
Ni-hard High strength
Mn 0.5, Ni 4.5, Sand-cast — 55 — 550
type 2 applications
Cr 2.0

C 3.0, Si 2.0, Resistance to

Ni-resist
Mn 1.0, Cast — 27 2 140 heat and
type 2
Ni 20.0, Cr 2.5 corrosion

History
Cast iron and wrought iron can be produced unintentionally when smelting copper
using iron ore as a flux.[11]: 47–48 

The earliest cast-iron artifacts date to the 5th century BC, and were discovered by
archaeologists in what is now modern Luhe County, Jiangsu in China during the
Warring States period. This is based on an analysis of the artifact's
microstructures.[2] Cast-iron artifact
dated from 5th
Because cast iron is comparatively brittle, it is not suitable for purposes where a century BC
sharp edge or flexibility is required. It is strong under compression, but not under found in
tension. Cast iron was invented in China in the 5th century BC and poured into Jiangsu, China
molds to make ploughshares and pots as well as weapons and pagodas.[12]
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Although steel was more desirable, cast iron was cheaper and thus
was more commonly used for implements in ancient China, while
wrought iron or steel was used for weapons.[2] The Chinese
developed a method of annealing cast iron by keeping hot castings
in an oxidizing atmosphere for a week or longer in order to burn
off some carbon near the surface in order to keep the surface layer
from being too brittle.[13]: 43 

In the west, where it did not become available until the 15th Diorama model of a Han dynasty
century, its earliest uses included cannon and shot. Henry VIII blast furnace blower
initiated the casting of cannon in England. Soon, English iron
workers using blast furnaces developed the technique of producing
cast-iron cannons, which, while heavier than the prevailing bronze
cannons, were much cheaper and enabled England to arm her
navy better. The technology of cast iron was transferred from
China. Al-Qazvini in the 13th century and other travellers
subsequently noted an iron industry in the Alburz Mountains to
the south of the Caspian Sea. This is close to the silk route, so that
the use of technology derived from China is conceivable.[14] The
ironmasters of the Weald continued producing cast irons until the
1760s, and armament was one of the main uses of irons after the The Iron Lion of Cangzhou, the
Restoration. largest surviving cast-iron artwork
from China, 953 AD, Later Zhou
Cast-iron pots were made at many English blast furnaces at the period
time. In 1707, Abraham Darby patented a new method of making
pots (and kettles) thinner and hence cheaper than those made by
traditional methods. This meant that his Coalbrookdale furnaces
became dominant as suppliers of pots, an activity in which they
were joined in the 1720s and 1730s by a small number of other
coke-fired blast furnaces.

Application of the steam engine to power blast bellows (indirectly

by pumping water to a waterwheel) in Britain, beginning in 1743
and increasing in the 1750s, was a key factor in increasing the
production of cast iron, which surged in the following decades. In Cast-iron drain, waste and vent
addition to overcoming the limitation on water power, the steam- piping
pumped-water powered blast gave higher furnace temperatures
which allowed the use of higher lime ratios, enabling the
conversion from charcoal (supplies of wood for which were
inadequate) to coke.[15]: 122 

Cast-iron bridges

The use of cast iron for structural purposes began in the late 1770s,
when Abraham Darby III built the Iron Bridge, although short
beams had already been used, such as in the blast furnaces at Cast-iron plate on grand piano
Coalbrookdale. Other inventions followed, including one patented
by Thomas Paine. Cast-iron bridges became commonplace as the
Industrial Revolution gathered pace. Thomas Telford adopted the material for his bridge upstream at

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Buildwas, and then for Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, a canal trough aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern on
the Shrewsbury Canal. It was followed by the Chirk Aqueduct and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, both of
which remain in use following the recent restorations.

The best way of using cast iron for bridge construction was by using arches, so that all the material is
in compression. Cast iron, again like masonry, is very strong in compression. Wrought iron, like most
other kinds of iron and indeed like most metals in general, is strong in tension, and also tough –
resistant to fracturing. The relationship between wrought iron and cast iron, for structural purposes,
may be thought of as analogous to the relationship between wood and stone.

Cast-iron beam bridges were used widely by the early railways, such as the Water Street Bridge in
1830 at the Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, but problems with its use
became all too apparent when a new bridge carrying the Chester and Holyhead Railway across the
River Dee in Chester collapsed killing five people in May 1847, less than a year after it was opened.
The Dee bridge disaster was caused by excessive loading at the centre of the beam by a passing train,
and many similar bridges had to be demolished and rebuilt, often in wrought iron. The bridge had
been badly designed, being trussed with wrought iron straps, which were wrongly thought to reinforce
the structure. The centres of the beams were put into bending, with the lower edge in tension, where
cast iron, like masonry, is very weak.

Nevertheless, cast iron continued to be used in inappropriate structural ways, until the Tay Rail
Bridge disaster of 1879 cast serious doubt on the use of the material. Crucial lugs for holding tie bars
and struts in the Tay Bridge had been cast integral with the columns, and they failed in the early
stages of the accident. In addition, the bolt holes were also cast and not drilled. Thus, because of
casting's draft angle, the tension from the tie bars was placed on the hole's edge rather than being
spread over the length of the hole. The replacement bridge was built in wrought iron and steel.

Further bridge collapses occurred, however, culminating in the Norwood Junction rail accident of
1891. Thousands of cast-iron rail underbridges were eventually replaced by steel equivalents by 1900
owing to the widespread concern about cast iron under bridges on the rail network in Britain.

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The Iron Bridge over The Eglinton Tournament Original Tay Bridge from the north
the River Severn at Bridge (completed c1845), (finished 1878)
Coalbrookdale, North Ayrshire, Scotland,
England (finished built from cast iron
1779)

Fallen Tay Bridge from

the north

Buildings

Cast-iron columns, pioneered in mill buildings, enabled architects to build multi-storey buildings
without the enormously thick walls required for masonry buildings of any height. They also opened up
floor spaces in factories, and sight lines in churches and auditoriums. By the mid 19th century, cast
iron columns were common in warehouse and industrial buildings, combined with wrought or cast
iron beams, eventually leading to the development of steel-framed skyscrapers. Cast iron was also
used sometimes for decorative facades, especially in the United States, and the Soho district of New
York has numerous examples. It was also used occasionally for complete prefabricated buildings, such
as the historic Iron Building in Watervliet, New York.

Textile mills

Another important use was in textile mills. The air in the mills contained flammable fibres from the
cotton, hemp, or wool being spun. As a result, textile mills had an alarming propensity to burn down.
The solution was to build them completely of non-combustible materials, and it was found convenient
to provide the building with an iron frame, largely of cast iron, replacing flammable wood. The first
such building was at Ditherington in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.[16] Many other warehouses were built
using cast-iron columns and beams, although faulty designs, flawed beams or overloading sometimes
caused building collapses and structural failures.

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During the Industrial Revolution, cast iron was also widely used for frame and other fixed parts of
machinery, including spinning and later weaving machines in textile mills. Cast iron became widely
used, and many towns had foundries producing industrial and agricultural machinery.

See also
Ironwork — artisan metalwork (for architectural elements,
garden features, and ornamental objects)
Ironworks — a place where iron is worked (including historical
sites)
Meehanite
Sand casting

References Cast-iron waffle iron, an example of

cast-iron cookware
1. Campbell, F.C. (2008). Elements of Metallurgy and
Engineering Alloys (https://archive.org/details/elementsmetallur
00fcam). Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. p. 453 (http
s://archive.org/details/elementsmetallur00fcam/page/n449).
ISBN 978-0-87170-867-0.
2. Wagner, Donald B. (1993). Iron and Steel in Ancient China.
BRILL. pp. 335–340. ISBN 978-90-04-09632-5.
3. Krause, Keith (August 1995). Arms and the State: Patterns of
Military Production and Trade. Cambridge University Press.
p. 40. ISBN 978-0-521-55866-2.
4. Electrical Record and Buyer's Reference (https://books.google.
com/books?id=_nw2AQAAMAAJ&q=cast+iron+made+by+rem
elting+pig+iron&pg=RA3-PA52). Buyers' Reference Company.
1917.
5. Harry Chandler (1998). Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=arupok8PTBEC)
(illustrated ed.). ASM International. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-87170-
652-2. Extract of page 54 (https://books.google.com/books?id=
arupok8PTBEC&pg=PA54)
6. Gillespie, LaRoux K. (1988). Troubleshooting manufacturing
processes (https://books.google.com/books?id=SX_SO_CkiUI
C&pg=PT195) (4th ed.). SME. pp. 4–4. ISBN 978-0-87263-
326-1.
7. Committee, A04. "Test Method for Evaluating the
Microstructure of Graphite in Iron Castings" (http://www.astm.o
rg/cgi-bin/resolver.cgi?A247-10). doi:10.1520/a0247-10 (http
s://doi.org/10.1520%2Fa0247-10).

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8. Kobernik; Pankratov (11 March 2021). " "Chromium Carbides in Abrasion-Resistant Coatings" " (htt
ps://link.springer.com/article/10.3103/S1068798X20120084). Russian Engineering Research. 40
(12): 1013–1016. doi:10.3103/S1068798X20120084 (https://doi.org/10.3103%2FS1068798X2012
0084). S2CID 234545510 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:234545510). Retrieved
29 September 2022.
9. Zeytin, Havva (2011). "Effect of Boron and Heat Treatment on Mechanical Properties of White
Cast Iron for Mining Application". Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International. 18 (11): 31–
39. doi:10.1016/S1006-706X(11)60114-3 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS1006-706X%2811%296011
4-3). S2CID 137453839 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:137453839).
10. Lyons, William C. and Plisga, Gary J. (eds.) Standard Handbook of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Engineering, Elsevier, 2006
11. Tylecote, R. F. (1992). A History of Metallurgy, Second Edition. London: Maney Publishing, for the
Institute of Materials. ISBN 978-0901462886.
12. Wagner, Donald B. (May 2008). Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and
Chemical Technology, Part 11, Ferrous Metallurgy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 159–169.
ISBN 978-0-521-87566-0.
13. Temple, Robert (1986). The Genius of China: 3000 years of science, discovery and invention. New
York: Simon and Schuster.Based on the works of Joseph Needham>
14. Wagner, Donald B. (2008). Science and Civilisation in China: 5. Chemistry and Chemical
Technology: part 11 Ferrous Metallurgy. Cambridge University Press, pp. 349–51.
15. Tylecote, R. F. (1992). A History of Metallurgy, Second Edition. London: Maney Publishing, for the
Institute of Materials. ISBN 978-0901462886.
16. "Ditherington Flax Mill: Spinning Mill, Shrewsbury - 1270576" (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/
the-list/list-entry/1270576). Historic England. Retrieved 29 June 2020.

Further reading
Harold T. Angus, Cast Iron: Physical and Engineering Properties, Butterworths, London (1976)
ISBN 0408706880
John Gloag and Derek Bridgwater, A History of Cast Iron in Architecture, Allen and Unwin, London
(1948)
Peter R Lewis, Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay: Reinvestigating the Tay Bridge
Disaster of 1879, Tempus (2004) ISBN 0-7524-3160-9
Peter R Lewis, Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847, Tempus (2007)
ISBN 978-0-7524-4266-2
George Laird, Richard Gundlach and Klaus Röhrig, Abrasion-Resistant Cast Iron Handbook, ASM
International (2000) ISBN 0-87433-224-9

External links
Metallurgy of Cast Irons, Cambridge University (http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/2001/adi/
cast.iron.html)
Forensic engineering:the Tay Bridge disaster (http://technology.open.ac.uk/materials/about_us/isr1
707lowres.pdf)
Spanish cast-iron bridges (https://www.academia.edu/4777675/A_tale_of_two_Spanish_cast-iron_
bridges)

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