Chilling Tendency and Chill of Cast Iron

An analytical expression is presented for the susceptibility of liquid cast iron to solidify according tothe Fe-C-X metastable system (also known as the chilling tendency of cast iron, CT). The analysis incorpo-rates the nucleation and growth processes associated with the eutectic transformation. The CT is related tothe physicochemical state of the liquid, the eutectic cells in the flake graphite, and the number of nodules innodular cast iron. In particular, the CT can be related to the critical wall thickness, Scr, or the chill width, Wcr,in wedge shaped castings. Finally, this work serves as a guide for understanding the effect of technical fac-tors such as the melt chemistry, the spheroidizing and inoculation practice, and the holding time and tam-perature on the resultant CT and chill of the cast iron. Theoretical calculations of Scr and Wcr compare wellwith experimental data for flake graphite and nodular cast iron.