A u s t e m p e r e d ductile-iron c a s t i n g s -

advantages, production, properties and

specifications

Abstract - Ductile irons, having a spheroidal or nodular graphite structure, are well-established engineering
materials. A recent development is to use an austempering heat-treatment process to obtain improved combi-
nations of mechanical properties. In many cases, the austempered ductile irons (AOI) can be considered
competitive with heat-treated forged steels. Furthermore, the overall production cost of AOI components can be
20-30% cheaper than equivalent forged-steel components, as a result of lower raw-material, machining and
energy costs. Applications to date include gears for automotive and general-engineering uses, crankshafts,
various engine and vehicle components, and components in off-highway vehicles such as earthmovers, fighting
vehicles and agricultural equipment.

:--.o ov j'@'., o,,.,, :

.a ~. O • O,,,.~ ~ i aJ I,,
t,* ~ ~-IP'U e ~p J __

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IIF. ~ /-'" . O v, *

qne.o'~ .o _ • • y -. • I
• -I oQ.. •- ,-. •

o. .
ow

Fig 1 Typical microstructure of a flake graphite cast iron. Etched
in 4% picral
Every engineer is familiar with grey cast irons which have
tensile strengths of up to 400 N/mm 2 but very limited ductility
and toughness as a result of their flake graphite structure
(Fig. 1). These irons are the world's most widely used cast
materials. They are used for a wide range of engineering
components, such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, brake
drums, gearbox casings, ingot moulds and lathe beds, as
well as finding use in architectural work, for ornamental
purposes and for cooking ware.
Most engineers are also a w a r e that the graphite shape
can be changed from a flake to a spheroidal or nodular
graphite form (Fig. 2) by treating the molten metal before or
as it enters the mould. The resulting spheroidal graphite
(SG) irons, which are also known as nodular graphite irons
or now generally as ductile irons, have significantly better
combinations of tensile strength, ductility and toughness.
Since thenr development in the late 1940s at BCIRA (UK) and
International Nickel (USA), these irons have become an
important engineering material and now represent 24% of
* This article was prepared and submitted by Cast Metals
Development Ltd, Alvechurch, Birmingham B48 7QB, UK.
Tel." ÷ 44 (0) 527 66414. Fax: -t-44 (0) 527 585070
• Ib 3, .
Fig 2 Typical microstructure of a nodular graphite cast iron.
Etched in 4% picral
all ferrous castings produced in the U K Ductile irons are
also used for a very diverse range of applications, including
spun pipe and fittings, municipal castings, valve and pump
bodies, gearbox components, and automotive components
such as axle housings, suspension parts and crankshafts.
Ductile irons having a ferritic matrix typically have a mini-
mum tensile strength of 350-420 N/mm 2 and a corresponding
minimum ductility of 22-12% elongation at failure, whereas
those with a pearlitic matrix typically have minimum tensile
strengths of 700-800 N/mm 2 and a minimum elongation of
2%. Ductile irons can also be quenched and tempered to
give tempered martensitic materials having tensile
strengths and ductilities similar to the pearlitic irons, but with
a higher impact value and a higher proof strength to tensile
strength ratio.
The most recent development is to apply an austempering
heat treatment to ductile-iron castings to obtain a variety of
bainitic matrix structures. The heat-treatment cycle is shown
schematically in Fig. 3, and consists of the following steps:
1. Austenitization, typically for 1 hour at 900°C.
2. Rapid quenching to a lower predetermined temperature
within the range 235~450°C.
3. Holding at that temperature to allow the austenite to
transform isothermally to bainite. The holding time
would typically be 1-2 hours.

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1 9 9 2 0261-3069/92/050285-13

(~ 1992 Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd 285
Austempered ductile-iron castings

@ BC[RA Technical advantages

As well as having attractive combinations of mechanical
properties, ADI offers a number of technical advantages,
1000 Austenitize which include the following:

800 • ADI components are 10% lighter than forged-steel compo-

~uench nents of the same dimensions.
= 600 • The graphite in ductile irons dampens vibrations and, for
Isothermally example, ADI gears run more quietly than equivalent
transform steel gears. Work at General Motors[I] has suggested a
~" 400 Air-cool to one-point improvement on a 1 to 10 scale.
Ms ~ ambient • ADI components have better scuffing resistance than
200
Mortensite transformation ran E ' ~ ~ u r e similar steel components, particularly under conditions
of marginal or failed lubrication, because graphite
'T" ~7, ~ ,~ ,
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 nodules on the surface provide a lubricating effect. This
Time, h can also lead to a lower coefficient of friction and hence
higher efficiencies and lower running temperatures.
Fig 3 Typical austempering heat-treatment cycle Furthermore, it may be possible to use lower-grade lubri-
cants with components such as gears.
• ADI is less notch-sensitive than comparable steels, which
implies that discontinuities on the component surface are
of less significance. In the case of gears, there is evi-
dence that surface asperities are removed more rapidly
1600 during running-in and this can reduce the need for fine
finishing processes such as grinding, shaving or lapping,
commonly used for surface-hardened steel gears.
1400
Economic advantages
The creation of a new market for castings will only occur if
the technical advantages resulting from the use of ADI can be
"~ 1200
achieved at a cost that is competitive with other methods of
E manufacture. At present, there is very little information
Z

=- regarding costs. However, the growing number of engineer-

1000 ing applications of ADI provides strong pointers that these
¢-
materials can be cost-competitive with cast or forged steels.
The economic advantages include the following:
':':':':': Normalized
•~ 800 • The generally lower costs of purchasing and maintaining
E foundry patterns than forging dies.
• The flexibility of the casting process to produce compo-
nents of optimum design, for example with hollow or
600 undercut sections which could not be produced by forg-
ing.

400
I I
5 10
Elongation °/o
Fig 4 Strength and ductility of ductile irons obtainable as-cast
and by heat treatment
4. Cooling to room temperature.
The resulting austempered ductile irons (ADO have combi-
nations of tensile strength and ductility that make them
superior to the other grades of ductile iron. As shown in Fig.
4, they can be considered as a new family of cast irons. The
improvement in properties brought about by austempering,
coupled with economic attractions of lower overall produc-
tion costs, makes ADI competitive with quenched-and-
tempered and even case-carburized forged steels, which
they have successfully replaced in a variety of engineering
applications.
Advantages of austempered ductile irons
Ductile irons have always had certain technical and commer-
cial advantages over cast and forged steels, and these
advantages have become more fully recognized as ADI has
started to replace some of the higher-strength forged steels.
!!iliiii!ii!i!iliiii! • The lower raw-material costs involved in ductile-iron
production, although this may be largely counteracted by
quality-control costs required in the production of high-
quality ductile-iron castings.
I I
• The ability of the casting process to produce castings
15 20 near to the finished form and with a higher yield results
in reduced energy use and lower machining costs.
• The austempering heat treatment uses less energy and
should therefore be less expensive than case-hardening
treatments applied to steels.
These factors can be amplified as follows:
Energysavings-General Motors[I] have used ADI to replace
case-hardened steel forgings for the manufacture of rear-
axle gears and, as shown in Fig. 5, achieved a 50% energy
saving. Such savings have been confirmed by European
experience[2], as shown in Table 1. In both cases, it is clear
that more energy is required to produce a steel forging (even
without heat treatment) than to cast and austemper a ductile-
iron component.
M a c h i n i n g - It is normally easier to produce ductile-iron
castings closer to the final shape than steel forgings, thereby
reducing the machining required on the ductile-iron compo-
nents. Furthermore, ductile iron (prior to austempering) is
more readily machined than forged steel of an equivalent
hardness. Both factors result in lower machining costs, an
effective increase in machine-shop capacity, and less tool
wear. For example, Table 2 shows the improvement in tool
life, achieved by General Motors (USA) when ductile iron
replaced forged steel for the production of rear-axle gears

286 MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992

 Austempered ductile-iron castings

© BCIRA Table 2 Tool-life improvement resulting from the replacement of

case-carburized forged steel by austempered ductile iron
Temper and thread anneat
///
i/., Machining operation Tool-life improvement(%)
i/1

Pinion blanking:
f/., Centre press 30
//I Drill 35
///
///
Rough lathes 70
Anneal and harden /-// Finish lathes 50
/// Energy saving Grind 20
/.//
/// Ring gear blanking
//'/ Bullard turning 200
7~ Drilling 20
Reaming 20
/ / / Gleason machining
Pinion Roughing 900
Forging Finishing 233
Ring Roughing 962
Finishing 100
i / /

Austempering the United States of £0.19-0.24/kg was too expensive and

r / /

//-t
that a reduction in cost to £0.13-0.16/kg was necessary to
make the process competitive with case-carburizing. His
r ..." 1 \\\ approach to reducing costs was to add water to the salt bath
r z /
Hot- rolled low- carbon steel to improve its quench severity. This in turn reduced the
amount of alloying elements required in the iron and hence
the overall heat-treatment cycle time. A later American esti-
\\" Costing mate suggested[5] that case-carburizing costs £0.47-1.57/
kg, whereas austempering costs £0.24-0.47/kg in large
, / ,
volumes and £0.94/kg in small volumes. The current cost of
, / j austempering in the USA is typically £0.20/kg for compo-
/ / , ,
f / , nents treated in high volumes.
Steel )uctile Sub-contract heat treaters in the UK are typically quoted
iron for austempering at prices of £0.40-1.00/kg for batch produc-
tion. When austempering is as expensive as this, it can
Fig 5 Relative energy consumption per hypoid pinion and ring-
almost double the cost of a casting. The preceding American
gear pair
data show that the key must be to develop both the market for
ADI and the heat-treatment facilities so that the process bene-
fits from the economy of scale.
Table 1 Energy consumption during the manufacture of austem-
A number of alternative suggestions have been made to
pered ductile iron and case-carburized forged steel gears
reduce the cost of austempering heat treatments. These
include a reduction in the austenitizing temperature to
Operation Energy consumption,kW.h/t reduce the austenite carbon content and hence to increase
Ductile iron Forged steel the rate of development of the bainitic structure[6]. Another
has been to use induction heating to austenitize only the
Production of blank 4500 outer rim of components such as gears[7]. A third has been
2500 that castings should be removed from the mould at a temper-
Annealing 500 ature of about 900°C and charged directly into the austenitiz-
ing furnace[8]. This would appear to have the greatest poten-
Austempermg 600 tial in die- or precision-casting processes where only small
amounts of subsequent machining would be required.
Case hardening 800 1200 Overall c o s t s - It can be very misleading to generalize about
the overall costs of producing a component by different
routes, unless a specific component is considered, having
Total 3100 5600-6200
well-defined quality, dimensional and throughput require-
ments. Furthermore, reliable case histories are rare. In one
Total energy saving 46 50% documented example, Cummins[9] have stated that there
was an overall cost saving of 30% when ADI replaced induc-
tion-hardened AISI 4140 or case-carburized AISI 1022 forged
for passenger c a r s [ l ] Fiat (Italy) has shown[3] that tooling steels for the timing gears in their B and C Series of diesel
and sharpening costs could be reduced by 75% if an
engines. In another example, Ford have predicted savings of
annealed 18CrMo4 forged steel was replaced by a ductile
$80-120 if ADI is used to replace forged steel for the produc-
iron machined in the ferritic condition before the austemper- tion of crankshafts normally costing $300.
ing heat treatment.
Heat t r e a t m e n t - The possible advantages of reduced cost of
The production of ADI components
casting production and the larger benefits of improved
The essential steps in the production of a finished ADI compo-
machinability will be lost unless the austempering heat-
nent are:
treatment process can itself be carried out with the required
close control at reasonable cost. Energy consumption in 1. To cast the components, preferably as near to net shape
austempering has been shown by General Motors (Fig. 5) to as possible;
be less than in case-hardening. This has been confirmed by 2. To carry out any major machining operations;
George Fischer[2] as shown in Table 1. 3. To austemper the components to develop the bainitic
In 1984, Lincoln[4] suggested that an austempering cost in matrix structure;

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992 287

 Austempered ductile-iron castings

@ BCIRA ~) BCIRA
450 1000
0% Mo
.... 0.25°/o Mo
BOO --.-- 0.50°1o Mo

400 600
~J
o

21 400 ~ - 7 ~ , " BBa~nite

Bainite
P Q.
E
o. 350 ~ 2O0
E

._c_ I I III I I III I i ,,I , , ,ll , , ii

10 100 1000 10 000 100 000
{3. Seconds I I I III i J I al i i I II I
£ 300 1 10 100 1000
Minutes I I I ,,I ~ I
< 1 4 10 30
Time Hours
Fig 7 CCT diagrams for a 3.3% C, 2.6% SL 0.3% Mn ductile iron
250 i i I I I ~1, with varied Mo additions
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Bar diameter, mm
® BCIRA
Fig 6 The effects of bar diameter and austempering temperature
450
on the microstructural constituents produced at the bar
centre
%. ~ \ ;,= 2.25 O/oHi
£9
4. To carry out any finishing operations, such as final
o ~, % I) \= \ 1.47% Ni
machining and shot-peening. ~" 400
~ \ ~.~ ". \ 3.2?°/oCu
These aspects of the production process will be considered
separately. E
~ 350
Production of ductile-iron components E

The first stage of the overall production route is to produce

high-quality ductile-iron castings using any of the many well-
L.

established foundry techniques, including clay-bonded, che-
mically bonded and binderless sand-moulding processes. It
should be emphasized that, except for the small alloying
additions required, the production of ductile-iron castings for
austempering is no different from the production of ductile-
iron castings for any other purpose. It is essential that full
attention is paid to quality and that the wide range of non-
destructive evaluation techniques available to foundries is
used to guarantee freedom from defects and that the
required nodular graphite structure has been obtained.
When considering the conversion of steel forgings or fabri-
cations to ADI, design engineers should take full advantage of
the inherent flexibility of the casting process to produce the
shape that is really required, rather than having one dictated
by the constraints of the forging or fabrication process.
Undercut and cored sections can be produced, which allows,
for example, gear blanks to be cast with a reduced-thickness
web section or crankshafts to be produced with hollow bores.
Within this context, designers should be aware of the capabi-
lities of modern moulding processes to produce near-to-net-
shape components of good dimensional consistency so that
subsequent machining operations are minimized.
Alloying additions are required for all components other
than those made up of thin sections[10]. Fig. 6 shows the
structures obtained in round bars austempered at different
temperatures. It can be seen that, at a given austempering
temperature of, say, 350°C, the required fully bainitic struc-
ture can be obtained in bars having a diameter of up to
18 ram. As the bar diameter (or equivalent section size)
increases beyond this value, increasing amounts of pearlite
are formed in the material, and a fully pearlitic matrix is
obtained in bars having a diameter greater than 32 mm. Fig.
6 also shows that the maximum bar diameter that can be
E
\ \',, ,,,, \ \
~ aoo uool,o --k "t, "\ \
< o.72O/oN \ A "\ \ \.--'.
o.61o,oco \ %. ". \\
250
10 20 30 40 50
Bar diameter, mm
Fig 8 Effect of copper and nickel contents on the maximum bar
diameter that can be austempered without pearlite forma-
tion; base-iron composition: 3.5% C, 2% Si, 0.25% Mn
austempered without the formation of pearlite increases as
the austempering temperature decreases, and this is the
result of the higher quenching rate that is achieved at lower
austempering temperatures.
Although the presence of small amounts of pearlite in an
otherwise fully bainitic matrix structure is unlikely to have a
major effect on the mechanical properties, it is normal prac-
tice to aim for a fully bainitic structure. This is achieved by
making alloying additions to the iron to delay the start of the
transformation of austenite to pearlite, as illustrated in Fig. 7
for increasing additions of molybdenum. Although many
alloying elements can be used to increase the hardenability
of steels, the choice for ductile irons is more limited since
many of them - chromium and vanadium, for example - are
strong carbide formers. The only alloying elements that can
be used in ductile irons are nickel, copper, molybdenum and
manganese.
The effects of the first three of these elements are sum-
marized in Figs 8 and 9, which show that molybdenum is by
far the most potent. However, all four alloying elements have
d i s a d v a n t a g e s - cost (nickel and molybdenum), limited solid

288 MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992


(~ BCIRA
\ \
e/
'~'&00 l- Uncllloyed / ~0.15°/o ~0.30°,o ~0.52°t
,
o ~
0 10 20 30 40 50
Bar diometer, mm
Fig 9 Effect of molybdenum content on the maximum bar dia-
meter that can be austempered without pearlite formation:
base-iron composition as in Fig. 8
solubility (copper) or a tendency to segregate strongly (man-
ganese and molybdenum), which results in a heterogeneous
austempered structure having an inferior combination of
mechanical properties. The current trend is to use combi-
nations of small amounts of alloying elements: typical exam-
ples are 0.3% molybdenum, 1.5% nickel[6], or 0.2% molyb-
denum, 1% copper[11]. The selection of alloying elements is
undertaken by the foundry who, if they are Members, have
access to BCIRA's full technical resources to assist them in
making the correct choice.
Machining
Depending on the heat-treatment conditions employed, ADI
components will have either a high hardness (up to about
50HRC) or a high work-hardening rate. Although certain
grades are more readily machined than others, it is recom-
mended that most of the machining is carried out before heat
treatment, when the material is in its softest condition.
Recommended starting conditions for the machining of duc-
tile irons are readily available[12] and production exper-
ience shows that ductile irons are more readily machinable
than forged steels of a similar hardness.
Ideally, all of the machining should be carried out before
austempering, and this requires that information should be
available to predict the small amount of growth that will
occur during austempering. Some of the data currently avail-
able are summarized in Fig. 10, which shows that initially
ferritic structures (with a hardness of about 150 HB) undergo
more growth than initially pearlitic structures (with a hard-
ness of about 250 HB). Furthermore, the amount of growth
increases as the austempering temperature decreases. It
should be pointed out that data of the type presented in Fig.
10 should only be used as a guide to the amount of growth
that might occur, and BCIRA experience suggests that the
component shape may also have an influence. When long
runs of precision components are required, the amount of
growth should be established during the production of initial
prototypes, so that growth can be accurately allowed for in
the machining of production batches prior to austempering.
It has been found[9] that if castings are annealed to give a
ferritic matrix containing less than 10% pearlite prior to
machining, growth will be more consistent during subse-
quent austempering. The prior annealing treatment is only
likely to be required when strict dimensional tolerances are
imposed on a component, as with certain gears. Although
the annealing treatment will clearly add to the cost of the
component, this may be partly or wholly offset by an impro-
MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992
Austempered ductile-iron castings
© BCIRA
0.6
0.4
Austempering
mperat u re
235°C
0.2
375o C
I I I
150 200 250 300
Initial hardness, HB
Fig 10 Change in diameter of a 150 mm-diameter disk during
austempering
Austenitizing
furnQce
Loading
station I Molten-sort or
hot-oi[ bQth
Fig 11 A batch austempering process (schematic)
vement in machinability prior to austempering and the elimi-
nation of final grinding after austempering.
Austempering heat treatment
The major features of the austempering heat-treatment cycle
have already been illustrated in Fig. 3. A variety of types of
plant have been used for production purposes, and may be
conveniently divided into plant for batch production, and
plant for high-volume production.
Fig. 11 is a schematic illustration of the plant used for
batch production. Components would normally be placed in
baskets which would be loaded one at a time into a high-
temperature furnace for austenitization. This consists in
soaking at a temperature within the range 850-950°C for a
period of 1 to 4 hours. Wherever possible, an austenitizing
time of 1 hour should be used to minimize heat treatment
costs. Furnaces can be heated by oil, gas or electricity, and a
controlled endothermic atmosphere should be used when it
is important to prevent scaling and decarburization.
Alternatively, molten-salt baths can be used for austeniti-
zation. The salts used are mixtures of sodium, barium and
potassium chlorides and provide a neutral medium, as long
as careful control is maintained over the condition of the salt.
Molten-salt baths provide rapid austenitization, but can
suffer from high drag-out losses. Salt baths are generally
double-walled vessels, in which the heating is provided by
gas or oil-fired immersion tubes, electrodes or electric
immersion heaters. A further means of austenitization is a
high-temperature fluidized bed, although it is not believed
that these have been used in production austempering plant.
289
Austempered ductile-iron castings

Table 3 Results of three-point-bending fatigue tests

C) BCIRA
550
Fatigue limit
(N/mm ~

Surface treatment Residual Mean Stress

stress stress amplitude 50(
(N/mm2) ~m aa

%
None +143 (4-10) 155.8 4-127.4 E
Rolled under 5 kN load -78.4 (4-20) 183 ±150.2
Rolled under 9 kN load -215.6 (4-29) 211 4-172.4
Z L5(
Peened to 6 Atmen A -241 (4-49) 212 4- 173 .E
intensity
Peened to 16 Almen A -248 (4- 10) 282.7 4-231.3
intensity
Carbo-nitrided forged - 284 ( 4- 20) 298 4- 244.5 L0C
18CrMo4 steel, not peened

Following austenitization, the basket of components is 35C

removed from the furnace and transferred rapidly into a qJ
quenching tank held at the required austempering tempera-
ture. The most widely used quenching medium is a mixture
of molten salts (sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and potassium t-
nitrate), and these can be used over the whole of the austem- 30(
13
C
pering temperature range of 235-450°C. The molten-salt bath
m
equipment is similar to that described above, although parti-
cular care has to be taken to ensure good agitation of the
salt, and that the heat absorbed by the salt can be rapidly
extracted.
An alternative quenching medium is hot oil, which is held
25I
D
in a heated tank and protected with a nitrogen blanket to
prevent fires. Although special oils have been developed 200
A B C D E
with high flashpoints, the maximum operating temperature is
Fa bricofing method
usually restricted to about 260°C, so oil quenching is suitable
for only a limited range of ADI components. Fluidized beds Fig 12 Effect of processing variables on the bending-fatigue
have also been considered for use, but their lower rate of strength of gear teeth measured after 10z loading cycles.
heat extraction has precluded their adoption for production A - heat treatment after hobbing; B - hobbing after heat
plant. treatment; C, D and E - shot peening to 0.35, O.45 and 0.55
Whichever technique is used, components are held at the mm Almen A, respectively
austempering temperature for a period of 1 to 4 hours,
depending on the properties required and the alloy content
of the iron. Wherever possible, the alloying elements should Table 4 Bending-fatigue endurance limits of crankshafts(14)
be carefully selected so that the austempering time can be
limited to 1 to 2 hours to minimize heat-treatment costs. Material Endurance limit (N/mm 2)
When the components have been austempered for the
required time, they are removed from the quenching medium Quenched-and-tempered forged AIS11046 steel 331
and either air cooled or water quenched to room tempera- As-cast ductile iron (pearlitic) 207
ture. When molten salt is used as the quenching medium, As-cast ductile iron, fillet rolled 669
components have to be carefully washed and dried to Austempered ductile iron 414
Austempered ductile iron, fillet rolled 986
prevent subsequent corrosion.

Finishing p r o c e s s e s austempered in the range 330-400°C to produce an upper-

As described above, steps should be taken to eliminate as
far as possible the need for the final machining of compo-
nents following austempering. Where this cannot be
achieved, the critical dimensions of certain components will
need to be ground to size. The use of carbide-tipped tools
allows the softer, more ductile grades of ADI to be turned,
milled, drilled and tapped, but these operations should nor-
mally only be considered for the low-to-medium batch pro-
duction of components.
Cold-working operations such as controlled shot peening
or fillet rolling will improve the fatigue properties of ADI
components. When ductile irons are austempered at low
temperatures (235-300°C) to produce a hard, Iower-bainitic
structure, components will have a tensile residual stress.
Work at Fiat (Italy)[3] has shown that surface cold-working
can lead to significant improvements in fatigue strength, as
illustrated in Table 3. These results indicate that the proper-
ties of shot-peened ADI could approach those of the surface-
treated forged steel.
Less is known about the residual stresses in ductile irons
bainitic structure. However, cold working has again been
shown to produce a beneficial increase in the fatigue limit,
and it is believed that at least part of this is due to the
compressive stresses resulting from the strain-induced
transformation of retained austenite to martensite[13]. As an
example, Fig. 12 illustrates the effects of machining or shot
peening on the bending-fatigue strength of the teeth of gears
produced in an upper-bainitic grade of ADI. Likewise, work at
International Harvester (USA) has provided data[14] on the
reversed-bending-fatigue endurance limits of crankshafts.
The significant improvements achieved by cold working can
be clearly seen in Table 4.
Properties
Tensile p r o p e r t i e s
There has been a considerable international research effort
to evaluate the mechanical properties of ADI, and compre-
hensive accounts of the interrelation between mechanical
properties, heat-treatment variables, section size and alloy
content are available[10,15]. It is now clear that for an iron of

290 MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992

 Austempered ductile-iron castings

Fig 14 Microstructure of an iron austempered at 375°C with a

Fig 13 Microstructure of an iron austempered at 325°C with a matrix of upper bainite ( x 500). Etched in 2% nital
matrix of lower bainite ( x 500). Etched in 2% nital

a given composition, the austenitizing temperature and time

have some influence in the resulting mechanical properties,
but the austempering temperature and time have the major
effects. The austempering temperature is the more import-
ant of those two, and its effects can be related to the nature of
the bainitic matrix structure formed.*
At low austempering temperatures (235-330°C), lower bai-
nite is formed. This consists of an acicular or needle-like
ferritic phase containing very fine carbides (Fig. 13). Ductile
irons having a Iower-bainite matrix structure have a high
hardness (up to 500 HV), can be very strong with tensile
strengths in the range 1200 to 1600 N/mm 2, but have only
limited ductility (1-3% elongation at failure).
At high austempering temperatures (370-450°C), upper
bainite is formed, which consists of a coarser, feathery,
carbide-free ferrite distributed in a high-carbon retained
austenite (Fig. 14). Ductile irons austempered to produce an
upper-bainitic matrix structure have a lower hardness (280-
320 HB), tensile strengths in the range 850-1050 N/ram 2, and
considerably higher ductility with elongations at failure in the
range 6-15%.
At intermediate temperatures (330-370°C) it is often diffi-
cult to make a clear demarcation between the two forms of
bainite, since the morphology and coarseness of the ferritic
platelets change gradually with change of austempering
Fig 15 Microstructure of an iron austempered at 350°C with a
temperature (Fig. 15). For convenience, these structures can mixed structure of upper and lower bainite( x 500). Etched
be referred to as mixed structures of lower and upper bai- in 2% nital
nite. Ductile irons of a mixed-bainite structure have tensile
strengths in the range 950-1250 N/mm 2, with ductilities in the
partly responsible for the high hardness values obtained. At
range 3-6% elongation.
higher austempering temperatures, the amount of retained
In practice, the mechanical properties evolve continually
austenite associated with the bainitic ferrite has a strong
as the austempering temperature changes, as shown in Fig.
influence on certain mechanical properties, particularly duc-
16 for two unalloyed irons. In addition to the form of the
tility, impact values, fracture toughness and fatigue strength.
bainite, two other factors influence the properties. At low
Maximum values of these properties are usually obtained by
austempering temperatures (less than about 300°C), some
austempering within the range 350-400°C, and by using aus-
martensite can be associated with the bainitic ferrite, par-
tempering times that produce the maximum amounts of
ticularly at short austempering times, and its presence is retained austenite.

Impact properties and fracture toughness

* A l t h o u g h the t e r m bainite is w i d e l y u s e d to d e s c r i b e the
m a t r i x s t r u c t u r e s in ADI, this is e r r o n e o u s . The t e r m ausfer-
rite is a m o r e p r e c i s e d e s c r i p t i o n o f the u n i q u e m a t r i x o f
f e r r i t e a n d r e t a i n e d a u s t e n i t e p r o d u c e d in ADI, a n d is f i n d i n g
acceptance worldwide.
It is generally known that conventional ductile irons have an
impact behaviour similar to most steels, undergoing a
change from ductile to brittle failure when impact tests are
carried out at a series of decreasing temperatures. Tests
have shown that austempered ductile irons have some

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992 291

Austempered ductile-iron castings
I hour x w x Iron A
1600 o---e Iron B
1400
E /" x ~ J " ~ x ~ Tensile strength
z : / -%
~1200 / 1501
C
1000 X m .,,.g.
~ 80o
E
I..--
600
.ordness
~" ~'~ l ... ~"X ~ x . ~
"-'--..._. :__--==:.~3oo~
10
o-..?
c B
.o 6 EIongotion
"6
C
o I
LU
250 275 300 325 350 375 400 425
Austempering temperature, °C
Fig 16 Effects of austempering temperature on the tensile
properties of ductile irons containing 2% Si (A) and 2.9 %
Si (B)
remarkable properties under impact loading. Ductile-to-brit-
tle transition temperatures lie between those of annealed
ferritic and as-cast pearlitic ductile irons, but the impact
values obtained in the ductile range approach the high
values obtained with fully ferritic ductile irons. Austempered
ductile irons then fail under impact loading with very pro-
nounced plastic deformation and show a very high degree of
toughness, particularly in view of the fact that they have
tensile strengths about three times those of the annealed
ferritic irons.
Typical results[6] of unnotched Charpy impact tests in Fig.
17 show that the maximum impact value is obtained by aus-
tempering at about 375°C; this corresponds to the maximum
amount of retained austenite in the structure. The notched
impact values show a similar trend.
However, impact testing data cannot be used directly to
choose the optimum balance of properties required for a
given application, and this is particularly true when a
designer wishes to compare a ductile iron with steel. Modern
design practice increasingly calls for data on the fracture
toughness of a material, particularly when high-strength
materials such as austempered ductile iron are to be used in
critical applications. Fracture toughness testing is used to
determine the critical stress-intensity factor, K,,, required to
produce brittle fracture, and the K,c value can then be used to
calculate the critical crack length or flaw size that can be
tolerated in a component.
Fracture toughness tests on ductile irons austempered at
375°C have shown that this grade of ADI is tOO ductile for a
valid K,c value to be obtained at room temperature. As a
result, recent fracture-toughness test data have been ana-
lysed to provide crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD)
values at the initiation of slow crack growth, ~3~,and at the
attainment of maximum load, ~m. For irons with fully upper-
bainitic matrix structures, the 6~values obtained match those
reported for quenched-and-tempered 1%-Mn(+ Mo,V) cast
steels, although it should be noted that the latter had lower
tensile strength (770-880 N/mm 2) than the ADI. The available
292
2ooi
.c" oAp~itempered for
E
10G
I1400-s for 1hour
"
E
D 5C
,, I I
250 30O 350
Austempering temperature, °C
Fig 17 Effects of austempering temperature on the unnotched
impact strength of a 1.5% nickel, 0.3% molybdenum iron
8~ values for ADI appear to overlap the bottom end of the
range of values reported for BT2 cast steels having tensile
properties comparable to ADI.
One of the applications of fracture toughness data is to
calculate the critical crack size for particular types of flaw
and component geometry. A tough grade of ADI with a tensile
strength of 950 N/ram 2 exhibits good crack tolerance when
compared with ferritic and pearlitic ductile irons. However, it
is less tolerant to cracks than the BS 3100 BT1 and BT2
grades of cast steel.
Fatigue properties
Austempered ductile irons used as alternatives to high-
strength cast and forged steels will frequently be used in
applications where fatigue loading is applied. It is therefore
very important that comprehensive fatigue data are avail-
able for austempered ductile irons. Extensive fatigue testing
has been carried out at BCIRA on ductile irons treated over
the whole range of austempering conditions, and rotating-
bending fatigue data from this and a number of other
sources[10] are compiled in Fig. 18. The wide scatter in
results can be attributed to differences in al)oy content, test-
bar diameter, austempering practice, and definition of the
fatigue limit. There is some evidence to suggest that the
addition of certain alloying elements gives fatigue strengths
towards the upper end of the scatter band, whereas speci-
mens machined from heavier-section austempered castings
give values towards the bottom of the scatter band.
The results in Fig. 18 show two important features. First
comparison with Fig. 16 shows that the fatigue strength
decreases as the tensile strenth increases, which is the
opposite of the behaviour found in most materials. The
endurance ratio of ADI is within the range 0.3-0.4, which is
comparable to alloyed steel castings of equivalent tensile
strength and also overlaps the bottom end of the 0.4-0.55
range normally found for wrought steels. Second, the results
suggest that a maximum fatigue strength is obtained at aus-
tempering temperatures within the range 350-400°C, which
give a high proportion of retained austenite. A probable
explanation for this is that the plastic-strain field ahead of a
MATERIALS & DESIGNVol. 13 No. 5 1992
 Austempered ductile-iron castings

• Austempered steel
15 • g 8, T sleel
O &T ductile iron
14 ADI

50C 13
E
E 12

o
Z
.c"
CJ~ 11
C
8 8
~ 4O0
_

"N e ~ o 10

._~
9
"T
I I I I
30 40 50 60
0
c-
Hardness Rc
O
Fig 19 Comparison of pin abrasion test results on Aah ductile iron
and two steels

200 I I I I
250 300 350 400
Austempering temperature, °C

Fig 18 Effects of austempering temperature on the unnotched Ni-Hard 676HB

rotating bending fatigue strength

growing fatigue crack causes the retained austenite to trans-

form to martensite, and the resulting volume change leads to I A D ! 235°C 472 HB
plastically induced crack closure and a resulting reduction in
the fatigue-crack growth rate.
The fatigue-strength reduction factors of 1.85--2.1 show
12% Mn steel 214HB i
that ADI is notch-sensitive in fatigue, so severe notch con-
ditions must be avoided in design. In this respect, ADI is less
attractive than cast steels which typically have fatigue-
strength reduction factors of 1.5-1.8 at an equivalent tensile ADI 300°C 420HB ]
strength level. However, ADI compares very favourably with
wrought steels which have values in the range 1.5-3 or
higher.
Modern design practices require data on the axial fatigue ADI 375°C 306HB
properties of materials. There is a dearth of such information
for AOl, although initial work at BCIRA suggests that AOIS with
tensile strengths of 950-1200 N/mm 2 have similar properties
to AlSl 1144 steel in the cold-drawn, strain-relieved condition 817 Mz, O steel z,85HB
with a tensile strength of 930 N/mm 2, but an AlSl 4340 steel in
! I / I I I I
the quenched-and-tempered condition with a tensile strength 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
of 1240 N/mm 2 is considerably better. It should be stressed
Average wear rate, g / h
that these are initial results and much more work is required
to confirm them and to establish a complete database. Fig 20 Impact erosion wear resistance of various materials

Wear resistance important feature of certain ADI components since, as the

Good wear resistance in any material is generally obtained
by ensuring as high a hardness as possible. Low austemper-
ing temperatures (235-250°C) produce ADI of high hardness
(480-550 HB) and good wear resistance. As the austemper-
ing temperature is increased, the hardness (and hence the
wear resistance) progressively decreases. However, the
softer materials, having typical hardness of 280-320 HB, con-
tain large amounts of retained austenite. This can strain
harden and even transform to martensite at the surface
under the action of localized cold working such as shot
peening, surface rolling or wear processes that cause sur-
face straining. This increase in surface hardness results in
the wear resistance of a component being significantly better
than would be expected from its bulk hardness, as illustrated
by Figs 19 and 20 for tests carried out under abrasive and
impact-erosion conditions, respectively.
The ability to form a hardened surface during service is an
hard surface is worn away, it is continuously replaced by a
freshly formed, hardened, wear-resisting layer.
Standard specifications for ADI
Britain
Although a full exploration of the effects of the process vari-
ables on the properties of austempered ductile irons has
been an essential stage in the development of these mater-
ials, such data cannot be directly used by the design engi-
neer. The requirement is for design data for specific grades
of ADI to be offered by foundries, preferably in the form of
specifications against which customers can place orders.
The commercial success of austempered ductile irons
(ADO will be partly determined by the Standards and Specifi-
cations adopted for these materials. If they are too conserva-
tive they will inhibit the widespread use of AD= to replace cast
or forged steels whereas, if they are overoptimistic, foun-

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992 293

Austempered ductile-iron castings

Table 5 National Standards for ADI

Minimum Minimum Minimum Minimum Typical

Grade yield strength tensile strength elongation unnotched Brinell
(N/mm2) (N/mm 2) (%) Charpy value (J) hardness

Interim Grades of ADI proposed by BCIRA in 1986

ADI 950/6 697 950 6
ADI 1050/3 792 1050 3
ADI 1200/1 947 1200 1

ADI Gradesto ASTM Standard A897M-90 (metric)

850/550/10 550 850 10 100 269-321"
1050/700/7 700 1050 7 80 302-363*
1200/850/4 850 1200 4 60 341-444"
1400/1100/1 1100 1400 1 35 388-477*
1600/1300/- 1300 1600 - - 444-555*

ADI Gradesto Japanese Standard JIS G 5503

FCD 900A 600 90O 8 80 min. on one sample
100 min. average of 3
FCD 1000A 700 1000 5
FCD 1200A 900 1200 2 340

Grades to VDG Standard W52

GGG~80B 500 800 6-15 250-310 HB
GGG-90B 600 900 5-12 270-340 HB
GGG-120B 950 1200 2-5 330-390 HB
GGG-140B 1200 1400 12 43-47 HRC
GGG-150B 1500 45-51 HRC

Proposed SiS Grades of ADl(Sweden)

600 900 8 280-320 HB
1200 1400 1 45 HRC

*Not mandatory

dries will not be able to produce them economically and
profitably.
An extensive R&D p r o g r a m m e carried out at BCIRA during
the 1980s demonstrated the flexibility of the austempering
process, and led to the proposal that there should be the
following three engineering grades:
ADI 950•6
ADI 1050/3
ADI 1200/1
where the first figure refers to the minimum tensile strength
in N/mm 2 and the second to the minimum ductility, expressed
as percentage elongation. In order to ensure that engineers
would have comprehensive design data for this new family of
materials, an Interim Engineering Data Sheet was drawn up
which specified the minimum values of tensile, compressive,
torsional, shear and rotating-bending fatigue properties for
the three grades. The Data Sheet also provided values of the
tensile and compressive moduli of elasticity, the modulus of
rigidity, Poisson's ratio and hardness, as well as recom-
mended design stresses and factors interrelating the princi-
pal mechanical properties.
More recently, the European Committee for Standardiza-
tion (CEN) has set up a Technical Committee on Foundry
Technology, TC 190, which has in turn formed a Working
Group WG 2.30, which is charged with drawing up European
Standards on ductile iron and austempered ductile iron. The
Wqrking Group is composed of French, German and UK
representatives (including BCIRA) and is currently concen-
trating on a standard for conventional ductile irons, prior to
establishing a standard for AOh Once agreement has been
reached on a given CEN standard, it is mandatory for each
EC country to introduce this as its own national standard.
This therefore obviates the need to develop a British
standard for ADI based on the interim grades proposed by
BCIRA.
USA
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has
recently issued two specifications for ADI (Table 5), one in
metric units (A897M-90) and the other in Imperial units (A897-
90). Both standards contain five grades, but they are not
exact equivalents and grades from one standard should not
be interchanged with grades from the other. Each grade is
designated in terms of its minimum tensile strength, yield
strength and percentage elongation. The metric grades
range from the tough, ductile 850/550/10 grade to the strong
but relatively brittle 1600/1300/- grade.
As well as minimum tensile properties, the ASTM
standards also specify a minimum unnotched Charpy value
for four of the five grades. This is in contrast to British and
European practices for materials standards, which normally
specify a V- or a U-notched Charpy value. A typical Brinell
hardness range is also quoted for each ASTM grade, but
these are not mandatory.
The ASTM Standards state that the material for testing is
to be produced as separately cast keel blocks (25 mm thick)
or Y-blocks having a thickness that is related to the section
size of the casting being produced. For castings produced
using nodularization in the mould, the test bars can be cut
from a casting or from a separately cast test block. The
ASTM Standards also allow specimens to be machined
before heat treatment if manufacturer and purchaser agree.
As far as can be ascertained, there are no further mecha-
nical-property data (such as for compressive, torsional or
fatigue loading) available for the ASTM grades. Likewise,
there appears to be little published information providing
guidance on the combinations of composition and heat-treat-

294 MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992

 Austempered ductile-iron castings

However, when the maximum values of the percentage elon-

gation in the VDG standard are used, the German grades
160( Key : appear slightly superior to the American ones (this is not
shown in Fig. 21 for reasons of clarity). Thus, the ASTM
• ASTM A897M-90
grades are aligned with the top end of the range of proper-
z~ JIS G5503
ties specified by the VDG Standard.
[] VDG W52 The grades given in the Japanese standard and those
1400 BCIRA proposed grades proposed by BCIRA and by SIS are similar to each other but
Z
• SIS proposed grades cover narrower ranges of tensile strength and ductility than
Z
E~ the German and American grades.
E

Proprietary grades of ADI

1200 A number of individual companies have developed their own
E
proprietary grades of ADI, of which the most well known are
(~
shown in Table 6. These companies are:
E Kymmene, which is now part of the JOT group of companies
E and was one of the first to develop and patent an ADI grade.
E- 1000
This was marketed under the trade name Kymenite K9805.
:E
Subsequent development work led to this grade being rede-
signated as K-10005 and two additional grades being made
available.
The International Meehanite Metal Company Limited, who
800
have established specifications for three grades in associa-
tion with JOT. These can be seen to be the same as the
I I I I I I I I Kymmene grades, with the exception that ranges of values
2 z, 6 8 10 12 14 16
are specified for the yield and tensile strengths and percent-
Minimum elongation %
age elongation.
Fig 21 Comparison of current or proposed national standards for Georg Fischer, Switzerland, who launched four grades of ADI.
ADI Certain of these grades are identical to those in the VDG
standard and it is assumed that the latter is partly based on
ment parameters required to achieve the minimum specified the Georg Fischer work.
mechanical properties, with the exception of a study spon- Sulzer Brothers Limited, Switzerland, who have produced
sored by the American Gas Research Institute which is res- three grades.
tricted to work on s m a l l - d i a m e t e r bars. Although the ASTM Advanced Cast Products, who have five grades conforming
standards comment on the need to alloy anything other than to the ASTM Grades. Before a change of ownership this
thin sections, no advice is provided about alloying require- company was known as Amcast Industrial Corporation: the
ments. CasTuf trade name has been retained.

Japan Comparison of proprietary grades

The Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS G 5503), covering
three grades of ADI, was issued in 1989. Only one of the
grades specifies minimum Charpy value (unnotched, as in
the ASTM specification) and only one stipulates minimum
hardness. The standard specifies that specimens should be
cast in the form of either a 25 mm-thick Y-block or knock-off
25 m m - d i a m e t e r bars.
Germany
Verein Deutscher Giessereifachleute (VDG) issued their
standard (W52) in 1987 for unalloyed and low-alloyed ADI; five
grades were designated. The numbering system for the
grades is a continuation of that used for conventional ductile
irons, namely, GGG to indicate spheroidal graphite iron,
followed by the tensile strength in daN/mm 2. The ADI grades
are followed by the letter B to indicate a bainitic structure.
Two comments can be made. First, a range of percentage
elongation, rather than a minimum value, is given for four of
the grades. Second, there is no requirement to meet a mini-
mum impact energy or other measure of toughness.
Sweden
A standard has been proposed in Sweden for two grades of
ADI.
Comparison of national standards
The American, Japanese and German Standards are com-
pared in Fig. 21 in terms of their minimum values of tensile
strength and percentage elongation. Also shown are the
grades proposed by BClRA and SIS. It is quite clear that the
ASTM grades are the most optimistic, whereas the VDG
grades are the most pessimistic of the national standards.
The minimum tensile strengths of the various proprietary
grades are plotted against their minimum percentage elon-
gations in Fig. 22. This shows that, at a given tensile
strength, there are no large differences in minimum percent-
age elongation. Fig. 22 also shows the minimum properties
of the five ADI grades to ASTM A897M-90 and it can again be
seen that these always have better combinations of tensile
strength and ductility. For example, for a minimum tensile
strength of 850 N/mm 2, the Georg Fischer specification would
anticipate a minimum elongation of 5%, whereas the ASTM
specification would impose a minimum value of 10%. A
similar disagreement can be seen at higher tensile
strengths.
Which Standard to choose!
When specifications or standards are drawn up for new
materials based on their mechanical properties, it is necess-
ary to find a compromise between being overoptimistic
about the properties that can be achieved and being over-
conservative to the point where the material loses its compe-
titive edge. Austempered ductile irons are commonly con-
sidered to be materials that could replace forged steels in
certain applications. Fig. 23 shows the minimum tensile
strength as a function of the minimum percentage elongation
for forged carbon, carbon-manganese and low-alloy steels
specified in BS 970: 1983. Also illustrated are the minimum
properties of ductile irons meeting BS 2789:1985 and of the
ADI grades to ASTM A897M-90. This clearly shows that the
properties of conventional ferritic ductile irons can match
those of low-strength forged steels, whereas the properties
of the more ductile grades of ADt approach those of the
medium-strength low-alloy steels.

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992 295

Austempered ductile-i'ron castings

Table 6 Proprietary grades of ADI

Yield strength Tensile strength Elongation Brinell

Grade (N/mm 2) (N/mm 2) (%) hardness

ADPGrades produced by Hbgfors Foundry Limited (part ofthe JOT group of companies. Finland)
K-9007 730 900 280-310
K-10005 800 1000 300-350
K-12003 1000 1200 380-430

Meehanite grades Of ADI

Europe USA
K-9007 K-295 730-900 900-1100 7-18 280-310
K-10005 K-325 800-1000 1000-1200 5-12 310-350
K-12003 K-405 1000-1300 1200-1500 3-5 380-430

ADIGrades produced by Georg Fischer(Switzerland)

GF 100 - 1000 - 46-51 HRC
GF 140 1200 1400 1-2 43-47 HRC
GF 120 950 1200 2-5 350-390 HB
GF 90 600 850 5-12 260-310 HB

ADIGrades produced by Sulzer Brothers Limited (Switzerland)

GGG-80 BAF 500 800 8 250-310
GGG-100 700 1000 5 280-340
GGG-120 950 1200 2 330-380

ADIGrades currently produced by Advanced Cast Products (USA)

ASTM
Grade*
CasTuf 1 125/80/10 552 862 10
CasTuf 2 150/100/7 689 1034 7
CasTuf 3 175/125/4 862 1207 4
CasTuf 4 200/155/1 1069 1379 1
CasTuf 5 230/185/- 1276 1586

~) BCIRA

1600
\
\
•
•
[]
ASTM A 8 9 7 M - 9 0
Kymmene/Meehanite
Georg Fischer
,,01
% \ • Sulzer Brothers
1500
• Amcast (earlier g r a d e s )
~
z
14oo Wrought olloy
steels
C 1250
"~ 1200 E
ca
Z
C

E 1000
~ 1000

e- ca
'~ 750 Wrought C & C-Mr
C steels
Ca
I--

80(
5001--
0
I
2
I
/-, 6
I
8
I i
10
Ductileirons
M i n i m u m elongation %
250
Fig 22 Comparison of proprietary grades of AO/

Figs 21 to 23 s h o w that, on the b a s i s of t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h a n d

ductility, the A S T M g r a d e s w o u l d be the m o s t a t t r a c t i v e to 01 I I I I I
0 5 10 15 20 25
a n y c u r r e n t u s e r of s t e e l f o r g i n g s w h o is c o n s i d e r i n g c h a n g -
Elor~fion %
ing to ADI. T h e r e m a i n i n g actual o r p r o p o s e d n a t i o n a l
s t a n d a r d s and the v a r i o u s c o m p a n y s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r ADi Fig 23 Comparison of the minimum tensile properties of wrought
h a v e l o w e r c o m b i n a t i o n s of p r o p e r t i e s a n d h e n c e t h e i r u s e steel (as 970: 1983), ductile irons (as 2789: 1985) and AOl
(ASTM A897M-90)
w o u l d m a k e it m o r e d i f f i c u l t to sell APt to a p o t e n t i a l c u s -
t o m e r . Fig. 23 a l s o s h o w s t h a t the h i g h - s t r e n g t h g r a d e s of ADI
h a v e a s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o w e r d u c t i l i t y t h a n w r o u g h t s t e e l s of a r e q u i r e high l e v e l s of both t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h a n d ductility,
s i m i l a r t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h . T h e s e ADt g r a d e s a r e t h e r e f o r e l e s s a l t h o u g h t h e y m a y n e v e r t h e l e s s be a t t r a c t i v e w h e n o t h e r
l i k e l y to c o m p e t e with f o r g e d steel f o r c o m p o n e n t s that p r o p e r t i e s - s u c h as w e a r r e s i s t a n c e - a r e c o n s i d e r e d .

296 MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992


The crucial issue is w h e t h e r the r e l a t i v e l y high levels of
properties specified in ASTM A897M-90 can be achieved in
practice. It should be stressed that the ASTM standard was
drawn up by a c o m m i t t e e consisting of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from
c o m m e r c i a l foundries or h e a t - t r e a t m e n t plants with practical
e x p e r i e n c e of w h a t can be reliably achieved.
Statistical evidence has been provided[16] of the ability to
meet the m i n i m u m properties of the most ductile grade.
Keough[17] has provided further e v i d e n c e of the ability to
meet the ASTM specification for the most ductile grade.
During a production run of m o r e than 300 batches of r a i l w a y
e n g i n e e r i n g c o m p o n e n t s (each batch w e i g h i n g 1800 kg), a
25.4 m m - d i a m e t e r test bar was included in each batch. The
yield and tensile strengths w e r e a l w a y s achieved and only a
v e r y small n u m b e r of bars w e r e found to fail on the elonga-
tion requirement, and all of those was found to have a silicon
content that e x c e e d e d the m a x i m u m specified.
Extensive testing has also been carried out[18] at Deere &
C o m p a n y (USA). Results on several hundred test bars
s h o w e d that mean values of yield and tensile strengths and
e l o n g a t i o n w e r e c o m f o r t a b l y a b o v e the m i n i m u m v a l u e s
specified in the ASTM Standard.
The ability to meet the ASTM grades is supported by the
results of previous 13CIRA work, with only a few exceptions,
and BCIRA is a w a r e that ADI is being produced c o m m e r c i a l l y
in the UK with properties that c o m f o r t a b l y meet the ASTM
Grades, as long as tight control is maintained o v e r both the
casting and heat-treatment processes.
It is concluded on the basis of the a v a i l a b l e evidence that
the grades specified in ASTM A897M-90 are a r e a s o n a b l e
c o m p r o m i s e b e t w e e n o p t i m i s m and conservatism. In the
absence of a national standard in the UK and m a n y other
countries, it is suggested that foundries and their customers
should a g r e e to w o r k to ASTM A897M-90.
Conclusions
Engineers and designers have much to gain by giving full
c o n s i d e r a t i o n to the use of ADI. As well as having attractive
c o m b i n a t i o n s of mechanical properties, AOIS are potentially
cost c o m p e t i t i v e with forged steels and can offer the engi-
neer c o n s i d e r a b l e flexibility in the design of components.
Within the fields outlined above, it is b e l i e v e d that ADI will
find success in the areas of:
• G e n e r a l - e n g i n e e r i n g c o m p o n e n t s designed on the basis
of c o n v e n t i o n a l mechanical properties and which
require little or no prototype testing. The provision of
specifications should e n a b l e such markets to be deve-
loped r e l a t i v e l y quickly.
• C o m p o n e n t s for use in applications such as agricultural
and e a r t h m o v i n g e q u i p m e n t w h e r e a c o m p r o m i s e
between toughness and w e a r resistance is required.
• Specialized l a r g e - v o l u m e e n g i n e e r i n g components such
as gears and crankshafts. The lead time for the design
(or redesign) of c o m p o n e n t s in ADI, their e v a l u a t i o n as
prototypes, and their d e v e l o p m e n t to the production
stage is likely to be considerable, and these large-
v o l u m e markets will need close c o o p e r a t i o n between
foundries and their customers and, w h e r e necessary,
with sub-contract machinists and heat treaters.
It would be w r o n g to think that a u s t e m p e r e d ductile irons
could fully replace cast or forged steels, but a g r o w i n g
n u m b e r of case histories s h o w that they have a particular
MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 13 No. 5 1992
Austempered ductile-iron castings
c o m b i n a t i o n of economic and technical a d v a n t a g e s which
makes them preferable in certain applications.
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