1

An Alternative Route for the Production of Compacted Graphite Irons

C.M.Ecob and C.Hartung, Elkem ASA, Norway

Abstract.
This paper reviews the properties desired from a compacted graphite iron (CGI),
these being an intermediate between grey and ductile irons. The two commonly
accepted production methods are discussed, undertreatment with magnesium and
a Mg + Ti addition, which creates and then suppresses nodule formation. The
advantages and disadvantages of these methods are reviewed and compared to a
new alloy based process specifically designed for CGI production. The new
process gives a wider production window and does not have the disadvantages of
returns contaminated with titanium.

Other considerations in the production of CGI, such as base metal composition,

oxygen levels, inoculation and preconditioning are discussed.

Introduction
Changes to environmental legislation, predominantly in Europe, are affecting the
way automotive manufacturers are planning car and truck design. By the year
2008, average emissions must be reduced from 180 grams of carbon monoxide
per kilometre to 140 g/km and average fuel consumption must be reduced from 7
litres per 100 km to 5 l/100km.

This means that fuel has to be burned more efficiently to generate increased power
per litre of fuel. Inevitably this means that engines will have to burn fuel at hotter
temperatures and therefore the engine must intrinsically have increased thermal
stability and strength.

One solution to meet these standards is to introduce a higher proportion of

turbocharged diesel engines.

Both grey iron and aluminium would struggle to meet the properties required,
aluminium in terms of thermal stability, grey irons in terms of thermal conductivity
and strength.

Compacted graphite will certainly meet the desired mechanical and physical
properties, provided that historic production difficulties, particularly section
sensitivity, can be overcome.

Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) has been known now for many years, although it is
only recently that the material has become accepted as a serious engineering
material.
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The production of ingot moulds, slag pots and casting trays has for many years
been in compacted graphite irons, although these are all thick section castings
without the intricacy of automotive casting design.

In recent times, cylinder blocks, heads, brake drums and discs, manifolds,
turbochargers and even piston rings have been produced in compacted graphite
irons. Most of the major automotive manufacturers have either produced
components in CG iron or are at the prototyping stage, although this varies across
the globe and some producers are considering alternative methods of increasing
vehicle performance.

The list of components above have mainly been traditional grey iron castings, yet
the foundries most suited to the production of CGI are ductile iron foundries, where
low sulphur levels are normally more easily achieved.

Until now undertreatment with MgFeSi or subverting the nodularity of a ductile type
iron with additions of titanium, have been the most common production methods
for CGI.

The former has a dangerously narrow production window and the latter can lead to
contamination of ductile/grey iron returns with undesirable titanium. In this paper,
the desired properties of CGI are reviewed and a third method of production is
described which give a greater production window and more consistency in the
production process.

Properties of CGI
The properties of ductile iron are controlled by the matrix, whereas the graphite
flake form and size govern the properties of grey iron.

This determines such properties as the ductility in nodular irons and the thermal
conductivity of grey iron. Compacted graphite irons make use of the vermicular
graphite form to give properties intermediate between grey and ductile. An
example of this is the thermal conductivity and is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Comparison of heat conductivity of grey, compacted (CGI) and ductile iron as a
function of operating temperature. [1]
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With CGI having a higher strength than grey iron, this has enabled thinner wall
sections to be produced, partially explaining why the majority of castings switching
to CG iron come from the grey iron sector. A general guide to the mechanical
properties achievable compared to grey and ductile irons are given in Table 1.

Relative damping capacity of grey, compacted and ductile iron is presented in

Figure 2.
Table 1: Comparison of mechanical properties of grey (GI), compacted (CGI) and ductile iron
(DI).

Tensile Hardness Elongation

Matrix
[MPa] [HB] [%]

GI
Pearlitic 200 – 270 175 – 230 0–1
Ferritic 330 – 410 130 – 190 5 – 10
CGI
Pearlitic 420 – 580 200 – 250 2–5
Ferritic 400 – 600 140 – 200 15 – 25
DI
Pearlitic 600 – 700 240 – 300 3 – 10

Relative Damping Capacity

Ductile
CGI
Grey
0 0,5 1

Figure 2: Comparison of the relative damping capacity of grey, compacted (CGI) and ductile
iron.

Production Challenges
The principal challenge in producing a satisfactory compacted graphite iron
remains the problem of section sensitivity. Most foundries will gauge the structure
of the iron from a standard test bar, however in CGI; this is unlikely to reflect the
actual properties of the casting. This is due to the unfortunate fact that if, for
example, the test bar contains 100% of compacted graphite forms, thinner sections
in the actual casting will contain a proportion of graphite nodules, whereas a thicker
section may contain graphite flakes as found in a grey iron. This also assumes that
the test bar is cast in the same moulding medium as the actual castings, again an
influence often overlooked in foundries.
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Figure 3 shows some microstructures containing various proportions of graphite

nodules and the effect of increased nodule proportions is given in Figures 4, 5 and
6. Factors influencing the graphite shape formed during casting are discussed later
in this paper.

5% 15%

30% 55%
Figure 3: Various proportions of graphite nodules in CGI microstructures.

Figure 4: Effect of increasing nodularity on some of the properties of Compacted Graphite

Iron.
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Figure 5: Effect of increasing nodularity on the mechanical properties of CGI. [2]

Figure 6: Effect of increasing nodularity on the thermal conductivity of CGI for various
operating temperatures. [2]
Generally, CGI producers, and those starting in the production of CGI, will measure
the percentage of nodules in the matrix and this method is widely accepted. An
assumption is always made that flake graphite is not present other than at the
surface. A new ISO standard is currently nearing completion where the structure
will be classified based on nodularity.

It may seem strange to describe a material based on unwanted features, but since
all mechanical and physical properties have been linked to nodularity the standard
will also be based on nodularity.

The standard will cover 5 grades of CGI with tensile strength from 300 to 500
N/mm2 and elongation from 2.5 to 0.5%.

When only looking at the nodule count the shape, distribution and thickness of the
compacted graphite is not fully taken into consideration when classifying CGI.
Shape, distribution and thickness of the compacted graphite will however have a
significant influence on the thermal and mechanical properties.
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Elkem has developed a programme for measuring the compactness of an iron

using image analysis techniques and this is shown in Figure 7. Whatever method is
used to classify CGI it is however important to remember that this material will
depend on visual control by trained personnel as there is no good method to
differentiate between compacted graphite and degenerated graphite forms as
chunky, exploded and flake just using image analysis. Roundness or aspect ratio is
often used to classify the different graphite structures, but still a visual control
would be needed to rule out flake graphite since this graphite form would be
classified as compacted graphite using roundness.
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Figure 7: Elkem Microstructure Report for CGI.

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Production Routes.
Compacted graphite irons may be produced from any one of several treatment
methods. The most common are undertreatment by magnesium (compared to a
ductile iron process) and by a Mg + Ti treatment which creates and then
suppresses the nodules to the compacted form. In theory, treatment with cerium or
nitrogen is possible, but the authors are unaware of any foundry making
commercial castings by these processes and, for the purposes of this paper, they
are ignored.

Undertreatment with magnesium.

Typical ductile iron will have a residual magnesium of 0.025-0.06% Mg, depending
on the casting section thickness and the type of castings being made. For
compacted graphite irons, the residual magnesium tends to be in the range of
0.01-0.03% and standard MgFeSi alloys can be used. This is, however, a difficult
process to control with only a narrow residual Mg window giving satisfactory
compacted structures, too high a Mg will give an excess of nodules whilst too low
Mg will lead to the formation of grey iron flake structures, particularly in thicker
sections. In castings of multiple section thicknesses, this method is practically
impossible to control and is not widely used. The process becomes even more
difficult with pure magnesium treatments, particularly wire, and often involves
expensive trimming treatments, which incur royalty or licence fees.

Magnesium plus titanium treatments.

In this case, the iron is treated similarly to a ductile iron in terms of the magnesium
addition, the difference being an addition of titanium to the process, either as an
addition of FeTi or using the Ti as an integral part of the MgFeSi. A residual 0.08-
0.12% Ti would be typical. This method gives a wider production window than the
Mg undertreatment and reasonable CG structures can be obtained in both thin and
thicker sections.

The major disadvantage of this method, apart from the high costs of the treatment
alloys, is the exceptionally poor machinability of the castings. A further concern is
the contamination of returns with titanium making them unsuited for use in either
grey (promotion of type D graphite) or ductile irons.

Alternative methods for producing CGI are summarised in figure 8.

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Figure 8: Different production methods for CGI.

The Elkem alternative, CompactMag™ alloy

Elkem has developed a new alloy for the production of CGI, which is free from
harmful elements such as titanium and yet retains a good production window.

The alloy contains 5-6% Mg and 5.5-6.5% Rare Earth (RE) in a normal ferrosilicon
“nodularising” base alloy.

It has previously been noted that magnesium is the common factor in the two
described methods of making CGI and research by Elkem has shown that rare
earth’s have a beneficial effect on the section sensitivity, resulting in less variation
of microstructure between thin and thicker sections. Rare Earth’s are also easier to
control than magnesium in that better and more predictable recoveries are
obtained.

Using this Mg + RE alloy, good CGI structures can be obtained using an alloy
addition rate of only 0.3-0.45% as either a ladle or in-the-mould treatment. This
compares to 1-2% MgFeSi + Ti in the Mg+Ti method or 0.5-1.0% MgFeSi in the
undertreatment method using standard commercially available alloys. In either
case this represents a substantial alloy cost saving. Whilst this figure will vary from
foundry to foundry, an example of the treatment cost is given in Table 2.
Table 2: Comparison of treatment cost per ton treated iron (2003 numbers).
1.3 wt% MgFeSi US$ 13 0.35 wt% CompactMagTM alloyTM US$ 5
0.25 wt% FeTi US$ 6 US$
0.3 wt Inoculant US$ 5 0.2 wt% Inoculant US$ 3
Total US$ 24 Total US$ 8
It is interesting to compare the Mg+Ti route and the undertreatment method to the
Mg+RE (CompactMagTM alloy) route.
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Figure 9 shows microstructures obtained with a 0.35% addition of a standard

MgFeSi alloy (6%Mg, 1% RE) and CompactMagTM alloy. This shows that a 5mm
section made with the standard MgFeSi contains predominantly nodules whilst a
35mm section from the same casting is mainly grey iron. The same addition of
CompactMagTM alloy (0.35%) gives mainly compacted graphite in both sections,
although inevitably more nodules are seen in the 5mm section. This is in line with
the earlier discussion on the narrow production window with the magnesium
undertreatment.
5 mm Section 35 mm Section

MgFeSi with 1% RE MgFeSi with 1% RE

Addition rate: 0.35 wt% Addition rate: 0.35 wt%

TM TM
CompactMag alloy CompactMag alloy
Addition rate: 0.35 wt% Addition rate: 0.35 wt%
TM
Figure 9: Example comparison Mg undertreatment and CompactMag alloy.

Table 3 shows a comparison of properties obtained in a foundry that ran the Mg+Ti
and Mg+RE (CompactMagTM alloy) systems. The Mg + Ti additions were 1.3%
MgFeSi and 0.5% FeTi compared to 0.35% CompactMagTM alloy in a sandwich
ladle process.
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TM
Table 3: Example comparison Mg + Ti and CompactMag alloy.

Example Example

Grey Iron Compacted by Compacted by Ductile Iron

Property
(ISO 100) Titanium CompactMagTM (ISO 400-12)
Yield Strength
- 290 330 min. 250
[MPa]
Tensile
min. 100 365 380 min. 400
Strength[MPa]
Elongation
ca. 0.5 4.5 5 min. 15
[%]

Better yield strengths and tensile strengths are noted, whilst the lower alloy
addition rates not only gave a huge cost saving, but far less slag on the surface of
the metal as shown in Figure 10.

TM
MgFeSi with 1% RE: 1.5 wt% CompactMag alloy: 0.35 wt%
FeTi: 0.25 wt%
Figure 10: Slag on the surface of treatment ladle.
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It is clear from the examples shown that a third commercially acceptable method of
producing CG iron is available and this offers several advantages over the MgFeSi
- undertreatment and MgFeSi+Ti route.

4 No Ti contamination of returns.

4 CGI returns can be safely mixed with ductile returns.

4 Less Si introduction to the ladle allows for higher Si in the furnace

leading to improved lining life.

4 Minimum of slag and dross.

4 Better machinability by avoiding hard titanium carbide and titanium

carbonitride inclusions.

4 Lower treatment costs.

4 Greater flexibility due to wider production window compared to

MgFeSi - undertreatment.

4 Less section sensitivity compared to MgFeSi – undertreatment.

4 No royalty or licence fees normally found with wire adjustment

systems.
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Other considerations.
Whilst a correctly applied Mg/RE treatment process offers the best option to the
foundryman for the treatment process, some other factors have to be considered
before good CGI can be produced.

These include the iron composition, preconditioning and inoculation on the

metallurgical concerns chill, shrinkage, microstructure and section sensitivity.

Iron Composition
As with the successful production of ductile irons, probably the most important
consideration is the preparation of the base iron for subsequent treatment. Whilst
the compacting process and inoculation are important, many foundries needlessly
waste alloy and time trying to correct the iron after treatment when this can be
done before the metal enters the treatment/casting cycle.

When looking at the base iron composition it is most important to control the
following three elements:

%C 3.5 - 3.8

% Si 1.5 - 1.9

%S 0.007 - 0.012 (preferred)

All other elements have less importance, but should not be significantly higher than
for ductile iron production. Generally a higher level of pearlite and carbide
promoting elements can be tolerated, as long as the S-level in the base iron is kept
low and the CompactMagTM alloy addition is kept below 0.40 wt%.

After treatment the final iron composition should be in the following range:

%C 3.3 - 3.6

% Si 2.0 - 2.5

%S 0.005 - 0.012 (preferred)

% Mg 0.005 – 0.015

% Ce 0.005 – 0.015

Typically the Mg- and Ce-content will be in the same range in the final iron. It is
recommended to aim for low C- and Si-content in the final iron, because this will
give a more consistent process although inoculation may be needed.
Experimentation has shown that nodule count increases with increasing Si-content
and it becomes difficult to get a good compacted graphite structure.

Many foundries wish to use the same base charge for both ductile and compacted
graphite irons, however it should be noted that the low addition rates of
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CompactMag™ and Foundrisil® inoculant required may necessitate additional

silicon units being added to the base charge.

Preconditioning
Some foundries pre-treat their iron to create the same conditions prior to every
treatment. This preconditioning can be a controlled introduction of either S and/or
O.

The most successful foundries now measure the base iron oxygen levels with an
oxygen probe to determine active oxygen. Through additions of low stability
oxygen source the level is maintained between 50-80 ppm of total oxygen. One of
the popular preconditioners is the Elkem product Ultraseed® inoculant, which
provides both oxygen and sulphur in addition to other nucleating elements at this
vital stage of the process. The preconditioning with Ultraseed® inoculant can be
done either through addition to the furnace or to the stream as the iron is poured
from the furnace to the tundish ladle or other treatment vessel. Care should,
however, be taken as preconditioning can provide sufficient nuclei to generate
excess nodules. It must be remembered that the use of Mg/RE CompactMagTM
alloy is not as violent as typical ductile reactions and the destructive effect on
potential nuclei is not as great.

Sulphur Content in the Base Iron

The base metal sulphur content plays a critical role in the production of CG iron. In
many cases, castings being converted to CGI have traditionally been made in grey
iron, hence the interest of some grey iron foundries in producing CG irons. This
does require a change of thinking in such foundries to produce a base iron
satisfactory for CGI.

The sulphur content in the base iron should be in the range 0.007 – 0.015%. It is
possible to produce good CGI with a base iron sulphur level as high as 0.02%, but
generally the process becomes harder to control as the base iron sulphur level
increases. While there seems to be a linear correlation between base iron sulphur
and addition of CompactMagTM alloy needed for the sulphur range 0.007 – 0.02%,
this is not the case for sulphur levels above 0.02%. Here it looks like there is an
exponential correlation, hence more compacting agent will be needed and the
compacting process becomes unpredictable.

Figure 11 shows that CompactMagTM alloy will give highly satisfactory structures at
the higher sulphur levels and that the addition rate of the alloy does not have to be
increased significantly.
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TM TM
a) 0.30 wt% CompactMag alloy -addition b) 0.35 wt% CompactMag alloy -addition

TM TM
c) 0.35 wt% CompactMag alloy -addition d) 0.40 wt% CompactMag alloy -addition

0.01 wt% S à a) and b)

0.015 wt S à c) and d)

0.02 wt% S à e)

TM
e) 0.45wt% CompactMag alloy -addition
TM
Figure 11: CGI structure at different sulphur levels with CompactMag alloy.
It is suggested that, due to alloy consumption, slag generation, chill promotion and
process control concerns, irons of above 0.020% base sulphur are not suited to
production of CGI.
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Foundrisil® Inoculant Sandwich Cover

In the production of ductile iron, many foundries use a steel scrap cover in the
treatment ladle to retard the onset of the magnesium reaction and enable them to
get a greater head height of metal into the ladle.

The low addition rate of CompactMagTM alloy, as previously described, has two
major benefits when compared to higher addition rates of MgFeSi based alloys.
Not only does the low quantity of alloy give a low reactivity, but the knock-on effect
of not destroying the nuclei inherent within the melt. Replacing the steel scrap
cover with a moderately powerful inoculant, such as Foundrisil® inoculant, provides
sufficient additional nucleation to minimise or eliminate the need for subsequent
inoculation. Experience has shown that a 0.3% by weight addition of Foundrisil®
inoculant is an optimum addition. Under standard conditions, the 0.3% Foundrisil®
inoculant cover has been found to decrease the tendency to chill formation and to
give better graphite compacts than the use of a steel cover. In some cases,
particularly in thicker section castings, the need for post inoculation can be
eliminated. While for chill prone section the addition of Foundrisil® inoculant as
cover for CompactMagTM alloy may need to be adjusted upwards or additional post
inoculation has to implemented.

Post-inoculation
Inoculation of CGI has to be considered carefully. Whilst it is desirable to produce a
structure free from iron carbides, inoculation will tend to promote the formation of
graphite nodules. It is therefore recommended that inoculants of moderate potency
be used. Interestingly, it has been found that inoculants generally associated with
grey iron, e.g. Superseed® inoculant, are very effective in CGI, as are the more
common ductile inoculants. Typically, addition rates are intermediate between grey
iron and ductile iron and are generally 0.1-0.5% for ladle applications, depending
on metal temperature, fade time and casting thickness. With good preconditioning
and perhaps the use of an inoculant base material as sandwich cover in the
treatment ladle, it is often possible to eliminate totally the post-inoculation process.

Fade time and treatment temperature

Depending on casting and casting condition the fade time may vary from 5 to 20
minutes without a negative influence on the microstructure obtained with
CompactMagTM alloy and Foundrisil® inoculant cover. Treatment temperatures in
the range 1400°C to 1520°C have been tested without any negative effect on the
microstructure, but, as with all castings, the choice of post inoculant may have to
be adjusted dependent on the final pouring temperature.
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PQ-CGI - Process Control technology for production of Compacted Graphite

Iron
Elkem & NovaCast is a single-source supplier of technology, equipment, software,
training and alloys for efficient, safe and economical production of compacted
graphite iron.

Why is a process control system needed?

Compacted graphite (also called vermicular graphite) is an intermediate form
between lamellar and spheroidal graphite. The requirements on process control
are therefore much more pronounced because both a minimum and a maximum
limit have to be considered. The “process window” for magnesium is very narrow,
typically less than +/- 0.0015%. However the crystallisation of graphite into a
compacted shape is not only dependent of the level of magnesium but also on the
metallurgical status of the base iron. Especially important is the nucleation status,
the level of total oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and the active carbon equivalent.
Controlling the iron by spectrometer analysis is therefore not sufficient as it only
shows the amount of each element but does not reveal anything about the
metallurgical status. The illustration shows how the graphite shape varies with the
magnesium level. If the amounts of nodules should be within 10-30% then the total
process window represented as active magnesium is 0.003%. The probability to be
within the “CGI-window” with normal variations in oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, ACEL
and nucleation and with traditional control methods is less than 80%. Thus in
order to be able to produce high quality castings in CGI it is essential to have a
metallurgically based process control system.

Figure 14: Process window for magnesium by the production of compacted graphite iron.

NovaCast has developed a special patented process control system for production
of castings in compacted graphite iron. The system which is called PQ-CGI
(abbreviation for Prime Quality Compacted Graphite Iron) has been enhanced in
co-operation with ELKEM for use in combination with alloys specially developed for
CGI. The system uses a combination of advanced quantitative
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thermal- and chemical analysis to determine the metallurgical status of the base
iron. Based on the analysis, which includes total oxygen, the computer system
suggests how to condition the base iron in order to keep its status within a
predetermined “window”. Once the base iron is within that specification, the system
produces a recipe for additions of alloys to the treatment ladle. The recipe is thus
optimised for the specific castings to be made and for the current status of the
base iron. Several treatments can be made using the same recipe as long as the
base iron remains the same. Thus it is a true one-step process. The PQ-CGI
system also includes a thermal analysis system for verification (quality assurance)
of the treated iron.

The PQ-CGI Ladle system for batch treatment

The PQ-CGI Ladle system uses two sampling stations. One is for metallurgical
analysis of the base iron. The other is for testing and verifying the treated iron. The
metallurgical analysis, combined with chemical analysis, is used in order to
recommend ”conditioning” of the base iron if needed until it is within a
predetermined ”process window”. Once the base iron is properly prepared then the
PQ-CGI system recommends optimal additions to the treatment ladle in order to
obtain the desired CGI structure and physical properties. The additions are specific
to the current base iron. That means that the recipe can repeated until the furnace
has been emptied or until there is a change in the iron. The system is adaptive
which means that it is gradually fine-tuned for each specific casting by means of a
learning algorithm. The one-step process means that the time from treatment to
start of pouring is very fast. This minimises the need for over-heating and the time
”wait for iron” after a stop in the moulding line. As the nucleation with the process is
carefully controlled no extra inoculation is needed. Combined with special Elkem
alloys such as CompactMag the fading is practical non-existing within 15 minutes
after treatment. The section sensitivity is less than with conventional alloys.

Figure 15: Example showing the process control window for PQ-CGI system.
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The main technical advantages of the PQ-CGI Ladle process are:

• Compacted graphite iron can be produced with high repetition accuracy
• The process is controlled by a computer system, which logs all events
• The process allows very low magnesium levels to be used, which reduces
the risk for shrinkage and dross problems
• The one step-process improves machinability of the castings
• The process reduces the section sensitivity and produces a more
homogeneous structure
• The process shows very low fading which allows long times (<20 minutes)
between the treatment with magnesium and pouring
• Extra inoculation is not needed
• The quality of a melt can be verified before pouring

Figure 16: Flow-sheet for PQ-CGI Ladle process control system.

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Summary.
Although CGI has been known for a number of years, it is only now that castings
are being produced in commercially interesting quantities.

There are three principle routes for the production of CGI;

a) Undertreatment with Mg, normally MgFeSi

b) Suppression of the nodules to a compact form by using Mg + Ti

c) The use of CompactMagTM alloy Mg/RE system.

The latter system has been shown to have some significant advantages over the
alternative methods,

4 Greater production window and more flexibility.

4 Low reactivity in the ladle, thus reducing the need for subsequent
post inoculation.

4 Low residual Mg and RE levels which reduces susceptibility to

chill.

4 Can be used over a range of sulphur levels within the normal

limits for CGI production.

4 Low slag generation.

4 No contamination of returns with Ti.

4 Used in conjunction with Foundrisil® inoculant cover in the

treatment ladle minimises the need for post inoculation.

4 Long fade time.

For further information on, please contact your local Elkem representative who will
be able to demonstrate this total CG iron production package.

Elkem & Novacast can help you set up a technical solution for production of CGI,
which gives you an advantage when it comes to quality, environment and
economy.
Reference List

[1] Mekanpublikation Mekanresultat 85002 Mars 1985

[2] BCIRA Broadsheet 253