Chunky graphite formation in small section ductile iron castings

Chunky graphite is a degenerated graphite form which can be found in the thermal centre of ductile iron heavy section castings. Previous studies made on cubic blocks (300 and 180 mm in side) manufactured using alloys with fully ferritic matrix structures show that low cooling rates, excessive post-inoculation and high silicon and/or cerium contents in the melts are the most important factors that promote this kind of defect. The enhancement of these critical factors led to obtain chunky graphite in sections lower than 50 mm. Different experimental conditions have been used in order to establish the main parameters that affect this graphite malformation. The use of cutting-edge techniques in the analysis of chemical compositions has revealed that no significant differences can be found when comparing chunky areas and well-formed spheroidal graphite areas. On the other hand, it has not been possible to establish any correlation between the oxygen contents and the scale of the defect. However, it is noteworthy that the oxygen content is related to the use of magnesium or cerium as nodulizer agent.