Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Abstract:
The effect of chlorides salts on mechanical properties of gray cast iron was studied with the view of using them in producing white cast iron as alternative to conventional use of ferrochrome. The salts include the chlorides of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. The basic reaction was between chlorine of the salts and silicon in the cast iron to produce silicon chloride (SiCl4) which depleted percentage silicon of cast thereby lowering its carbon equivalent and favouring cementite formation. In the overall assessment the addition of NaCl gave the best result as compared with other salts. All the bars produced by casting were annealed to reduce the hardness before machining for tensile and impact tests. The best comparable properties were achieved at 1% NaCl and 0.8% FeCr additions

Keywords: gray cast iron, chloride salts, ferro-chrome, annealing and machining

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