The influence of small amounts of aluminium on the spheroidization of cast iron with cerium mischmetal

The influence of aluminium (added in quantity from about 0.6% to about 2.8%) on both the alloy matrix and the shape of graphite precipitates in cast iron treated with a fixed amounts of cerium mischmetal (0.11%) and ferrosilicon (1.29%) is discussed in the paper. The metallographic examinations were carried out for specimens cut out of the separately cast rods of 20 mm diameter. It was found that the addition of aluminium in the amounts from about 0.6% to about 1.1% to the cast iron containing about 3% of carbon, about 3.7% of silicon (after graphitizing modification), and 0.1% of manganese leads to the occurrence of the ferrite-pearlite matrix containing cementite precipitates in the case of the treatment of the alloy with cerium mischmetal . The increase in the quantity of aluminium up to about 1.9% or up to about 2.8% results either in purely ferrite matrix in this first case or in ferrite matrix containing small amounts of pearlite in the latter one. Nodular graphite precipitates occurred only in cast iron containing 1.9% or 2.8% of aluminium, and the greater aluminium content resulted in the higher degree of graphite spheroidization. The noticeable amount of vermicular graphite precipitates accompanied the nodular graphite.