Effects of Alloying Elements (Mo, Ni, and Cu) on the Austemperability of GGG-60 Ductile Cast Iron

Abstract

The interest in austempered ductile irons (ADI) is continuously increasing due to their various advantageous properties over conventional ductile irons and some steels. This study aimed to determine the roles of alloying elements Ni, Cu, and Mo, on the austemperability of GGG-60 ductile cast iron. Two different sets of GGG-60 (EN-GJS-600-3) samples, one set alloyed with Ni and Cu and the other set alloyed with Mo, Ni, and Cu, were subjected to austempering treatments at 290 degrees C, 320 degrees C, and 350 degrees C. A custom design heat treatment setup, consisting of two units with the top unit (furnace) serving for austenitizing and the 200 L capacity bottom unit (stirred NaNO2-KNO3 salt bath) serving for isothermal treatment, was used for the experiments. It was found that austempering treatment at 290 degrees C increased the hardness of the Ni-Cu alloyed GGG-60 sample by about 44% without causing a loss in its ductility. In the case of the Mo-Ni-Cu alloyed sample, the increase in hardness due to austempering reached to almost 80% at the same temperature while some ductility was lost. Here, the microstructural investigation and mechanical testing results of the austempered samples are presented and the role of alloying elements (Mo, Ni, and Cu) on the austemperability of GGG-60 is discussed.