Effect of vibration frequency on primary phase and properties of grey cast iron fabricated by lost foam casting

Abstract

The properties of gray cast iron (GCI) are affected by density of matrix, size of flake graphite and primary austenite. In this paper, the Y-type specimen of GCI was prepared by lost foam casting (LFC) with and without vibration, and the influence of vibration frequency on the density of matrix, size of primary phase, and properties of the GCI was studied. The results show that the length of the flake graphite and the size of the primary austenite in GCI firstly decrease and then increase with the increase of the vibration frequency. With a vibration frequency of 35 Hz, the length of the flake graphite is the shortest, the primary austenite is the finest and the density of the matrix is the highest. In addition, the tensile strength, elongation and hardness of the GCI firstly increase and then decrease with the increase of the vibration frequency, due to the refinement of the primary phase and the increase of the matrix density. In order to analyze the refinement mechanism of the primary phase of the GCI fabricated by the LFC with vibration, the solidification temperature fields of the GCI fabricated by the LFC with the vibration frequency of 0 and 35 Hz were measured. The results show that the vibration reduces the eutectic point of the GCI and increases the supercooling degree during the eutectic transformation. As a result, the length of the flake graphite and the size of the primary austenite in GCI fabricated by LFC with the vibration frequency of 35 Hz decrease.

Keywords

• vibration frequency; lost foam casting; grey cast iron; flake graphite; properties