Influence of Chemical Composition and Cooling Rate on Structure and Mechanical Properties of Semi—solid Cast Iron

Abstract

Semi—solid metal processing of alloys is one of the key technologies for producing advance materials. High quality cast iron is being developed by semi—solid processing. To identify effects of alloying elements, a series of experiments were carried out to compare microstructure and mechanical properties of semi—solid processing cast iron and conventional gray cast iron. It was shown that increasing alloying elements of the conventional gray cast iron gave higher hardness and tensile strength. However, the tensile strength of the unalloyed semi—solid cast iron was higher than that of the conventional gray cast iron. for every composition, as a result of the globular structure produced by semi—solid processing. Alloying elements had little effect on the tensile strength of semi—solid cast iron, but the elongation was markedly affected. The tensile strength of semi—solid cast iron, however, was much dependent on the cooling rate.

Keywords ; Semi—solid Metal Processing / Gray Iron / Centrifugal Force