Abstract
The interphase boundaries in grey and ductile cast iron were studied with a scanning Auger microprobe. Sulphur and oxygen were found to be adsorbed at the flake/metal interfaces in the grey iron, while the nodule/metal and intercrystalline graphite interfaces in the ductile iron were free of foreign elements. The only magnesium detected in the magnesium-modified ductile iron was combined with phosphorus and sulphur as a compound. A model is presented in which it is proposed that Fe–C–Si eutectic alloys in the absence of surface-active impurities (e.g. in vacuum casting o/high-purity materials) produce nodular graphite owing to the inherent instability of the graphite/melt interface. The sulphur and oxygen always present in commercial alloys adsorb at the graphite/melt interface, effectively ‘stabilizing’the active sites on the graphite basal planes, and preventing spherulitic growth. The purpose of modifiers is to getter these impurities.
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