Iron
1.3-30 usd/kgIron is a valuable modern engineering material that, in the past, played an import role in the development of architecture and industry. Wrought iron, which is now largely only used for decorative purposes, allowed for longer uninterrupted structures in architecture, as well as elegant detailing that was not practical with other materials of the time. In structural applications, wrought iron has been replaced by steel, which is tougher and stronger.
Cast iron, on the other hand, offers many advantages over steel and other metals when it comes to endurance and dampening, especially in complex castings and large structural components. These three metals are primarily distinguished by their carbon content. Wrought iron contains almost no carbon (<0.035%), cast iron between 2-4% and steel between 0.06-2%. Alloys are mixed with cast iron and steel to further enhance mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. And this opens up opportunities for heat treatment to refine strength and hardness.
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White cast iron is hard, brittle and, as a result, not very machinable or weldable. It is so called, because there is little to no free graphite in the solidified material due to the formation of carbides. It is used for applications where resistance to abrasion is critical, and ductility is not required. Examples include manufacturing equipment (dies, moulds and nozzles), crushers, grinders, and low impact, sliding abrasion applications (liners and shoots for example).
There are three main types:
– normal white cast iron has high abrasion resistance, which is formed by chilling the iron against a cold conductive surface to rapidly draw the heat away. They have poor impact resistance, which limits applications to demanding wear-resistant parts. It is possible to produce a surface of white iron on grey iron, useful for dies and moulds for example, by casting it in a conductive chilled mould.
– low alloy white cast iron (<5% alloy elements) are a more recent development and include elements such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and molybdenum (Mo). These additions increase the hardness and so enhance resistance to abrasion and wear.
- high alloy white cast iron (>5% alloy elements) include nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr), for example, which greatly improves resistance to abrasion and toughness. They are used in very demanding applications in manufacturing, mining and heavy industry. High chromium irons, around one-third Cr, are used in heavy-impact applications where resistance to corrosion is required, such as brick moulds, quarrying, heavy rock mining and impact hammering. These alloy irons may be referred to by their ingredients, such as high chromium (high-Cr) cast iron, nickel hard (Ni-hard) iron, nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) cast iron or chromium-molybdenum (Cr-Mo) cast iron.