Effect of rare earth element on microstructure formation and mechanical properties of thin wall ductile iron castings

Ductile iron castings with 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 25 mm thickness and various amount of rare earth elements (RE) (from 0 to 0.04%), were cast in sand molds to identify the effects of sample thickness and the content of RE% on microstructural formation and selected mechanical properties. The effects of RE content and sample thickness on microstructural formation, including on graphite nodule count, graphite nodule shape, spherodization, and ferrite amount, were observed. The yield strength of the samples with RE within the range investigated were lower than those of the specimens without RE. The elongation was improved with the addition of RE up to 0.03% in ductile iron castings. The additions of 0.02% RE caused a smaller graphite nodule size and a higher number of graphite nodules than those in the specimen without RE at all levels of RE addition; the nodule count decreased with increase in section size. The chill zones were observed in the 2 mm thick samples, but were absent in the samples from castings which were thicker than 2 mm, irrespective of the addition of RE. The nodularity of graphite nodules improved due to the addition of 0.02–0.04% RE. The specimens with RE content up to 0.03% had a lower tensile strength and hardness, higher elongation than that of the specimens without RE. The ferrite content in all castings increased with additions of 0.02% RE. The tensile strengths of the 2 and 3 mm thick samples were also estimated using the relationship between strength and hardness, obtained from the data on the tensile strength and hardness of the 25 mm thick samples.