Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

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Materials and Design

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Effects of applied pressure on microstructure and mechanical properties

of squeeze cast ductile iron
H. Khodaverdizadeh , B. Niroumand
Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 3 May 2011
Accepted 20 June 2011
Available online 26 June 2011
Keywords:
C. Casting
E. Mechanical
F. Microstructure

a b s t r a c t
In this study, the effects of applied pressure during solidication on the microstructure and mechanical
properties of cylindrical shaped ductile iron castings were investigated. Magnesium treated cast iron
melts were solidied under atmospheric pressure as well as 25, 50 and 75 MPa external pressures. Microstructure features of the castings were characterized using image analysis, optical microscopy, scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. Tensile properties, toughness and hardness of the castings were also measured. The results showed that average graphite nodule size, free graphite content and ferrite content of the castings decreased and pearlite and
eutectic cementite contents increased as the applied pressure was raised from 0 to 75 Mpa. Graphite nodule count was rst increased by raising the applied pressure up to 50 MPa and then decreased. The highest graphite nodule count was obtained at 50 MPa applied pressure. The microstructural changes were
associated with the improved cooling rate and the expected changes in the corresponding phase diagram
of the alloy under pressure. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield point strength (0.2% offset) and
fracture toughness of the castings were improved when the applied pressure was raised from 0 to
50 MPa. Further increase of the applied pressure resulted in slight decrease of these properties due to
the formation of more cementite phase in structures as well as reduced graphite nodule count. Hardness
of the castings continuously increased with increasing the applied pressure.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Ductile iron is the most superior member of the cast iron family
with interesting combination of mechanical properties both in the
as-cast and heat treated conditions. Although development of
advanced light and high performance materials such as metal matrix composites once thought to limit ductile iron production,
extensive studies over the years to further improve ductile iron
properties and to develop new casting practices and strategies
have resulted in slimmer designs which has enabled ductile iron
to remain in the competition as a central structural material.
One of the techniques used in recent years for production of
advanced materials with enhanced mechanical properties is
squeeze casting process. The method, sometimes known as liquid
forging [1], is a hybrid casting process which combines casting
and forging advantages together. Ghomashchi and Vikhrov [2]
have reviewed squeeze casting process and stated that squeeze
casting products can have superior mechanical properties
compared to their conventionally cast counterparts due to sounder
inner structure, higher density, ner grain size and more homoge Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 935 2131892; fax: +98 311 3912752.
E-mail addresses: H.Khodaverdi@gmail.com (H. Khodaverdizadeh), Behzn@
cc.iut.ac.ir (B. Niroumand).
0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.040

nous microstructure. These characteristics are attributed to four

factors including: (i) improved heat-transfer between the mold
and the casting resulting in higher cooling rates during solidication, (ii) change in the liquidus temperature of the alloy and modication of the corresponding phase diagram, (iii) opportunity for
creation of large sudden undercoolings in the melt as a result of
(ii), and (iv) reduction of gas and shrinkage porosities formed under pressure in the castings [2].
Recently, some authors have investigated effect of squeeze casting parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of
aluminum alloys [3,4] and magnesium alloys [7] as well as their
composites [5,6,8]. Maleki et al. [3] have investigated effects of
squeeze casting parameters such as applied pressure, melt and
die temperatures on the macrostructure, density and hardness of
LM13 alloy. They also have studied effects of the same squeeze
casting parameters on the microstructure of LM13 alloy [4]. They
showed that the density of the samples decreased with application
of a 20 MPa external pressure but increased steadily for higher
applied pressure up to about 106 MPa. As they reported, increasing
the applied pressure resulted in smaller primary a phase grain size
and reduced secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) and therefore
improved hardness. It also modied the eutectic silicon particles
[4]. A decrease in the melt or die temperature rendered similar
effects on the macrostructure and hardness of the samples [3,4].

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H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

Zhang et al. [5] have investigated the production of Al-based

hybrid composites reinforced with SiC whiskers and SiC nano particles by squeeze casting. As a result of this study, the optimum
squeezing casting parameters, especially inltration pressure were
obtained for an Al-based hybrid composites, with 20 vol.%SiC whiskers and 0, 2, 5, 7 vol.% SiC nano particles.
Yong and Clegg [7,8] have investigated the inuence of key
process variables on zirconium-free and zirconium-containing
magnesium alloy and its metal matrix composite reinforced with
14 vol.% Safl bers. They reported that increasing the applied
pressure from 0.1 to 60 MPa, reduced cell size from 127 to
21 lm. The highest ultimate tensile strength value obtained for
the alloys were approximately 50% higher than those for material
cast under atmospheric pressure. They also indicated that the optimum applied pressure for magnesium alloys was 80 MPa where
minimum applied pressure of 60 MPa is necessary to eliminate
porosity and applied pressures greater than 100 MPa cause ber
clustering and breakage [8].
Although Squeeze casting has been intensively investigated for
casting of non-ferrous alloys, very little efforts have been devoted
to squeeze casting of ferrous alloys because of their high melting
points and difculties associated with squeeze casting of these alloys
and short mold life. Nevertheless, a few studies can be found in the
literature that investigates the effects of application of pressure during solidication on the structure and properties of cast irons.
Yun et al. [9] investigated the effect of pressure on the microstructure and properties of inoculated cast iron and found a
tendency for transformation from ne ake graphite to compacted
graphite with increasing the applied pressure during squeeze casting. Novruzov [10] also studied the graphitization phenomenon in
gray cast iron under pressure. He reported that rosette (twisted)
ake and point graphite was formed in gravity castings and pseudo-eutectic and ne-ake graphite was formed in squeeze castings.
Besides, he found that pressure considerably discouraged the
graphite formation and promoted the formation of cementite and
needle type ledeburite in the structure. Rajagopal [11] reported
the results of an experimental program for squeeze casting of mortar shells from ductile iron. He stated that very limited nodulization of graphite but considerable formation of platelets of
cementite occurred in the as-squeeze cast microstructures. However after annealing, the microstructures showed large number
of graphite nodules in a matrix of ferrite or ferrite and pearlite.
More recently Johansson [12] compared the microstructure and

Table 1
Chemical composition of the alloy used in this study before and after nodulizing
treatment.
Element (wt.%)

Si

Mn

Mg

Fe

Before nodulizing
After nodulizing

3.65
3.62

2.24
2.83

0.46
0.46

0.005
0.05

0.01
0.01

0.03
0.01

Balance
Balance

mechanical properties of two austempered ductile iron (ADI) components, i.e. a ring gear and a suspension fork, produced by gravity
sand casting, die casting and squeeze casting processes. He reported much ner and better distributed graphite nodules, no
microstructural defects, superior surface quality and improved
machining and mechanical properties in the optimized squeeze
cast components.
Increased cooling rate seems to be one of the most inuential
factors affecting the squeeze castings properties. Despite the lack
of information on the effects of squeeze casting on the microstructure and properties of ductile iron, effects of cooling rate on the
structure and properties of ductile iron has been extensively studied [13,14]. Studies show that increasing the cooling rate up to a
critical value has a obvious rening effect upon grain size and
graphite nodule size and nodule count, and, consequently, on
improving mechanical properties as ultimate tensile strength
(UTS), impact resistance and hardness [13,14]. On the other hand,
if the cooling rate is increased beyond a critical value, graphite
nucleation tends to be suppressed and carbide formation is promoted even without the assistance of carbide forming elements.
Ceccarelli et al. [13] have reported that although the presence of
carbides in the microstructure can be advantageous when wear
resistance is of the main concern; it can be detrimental for properties such as toughness. Therefore, the main challenge for development of squeeze cast ductile irons with enhanced mechanical
properties seems to be the ability to balance the structural renement and carbide formation.
The lack of information on squeeze casting of ductile iron promoted the authors to investigate the effects of solidication under
pressure on the microstructure and mechanical properties of this
important structural material. This paper reports the relationships
between the applied pressure during solidication and the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of cylindrical
shaped ductile iron castings.

Fig. 1. Schematic illustrations of Metallic die designated for squeeze casting process.

H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

2. Experimental procedure

4749

from the die and cut to pieces as shown in Fig. 2a for investigation
of their microstructure and mechanical properties.

2.1. Casting procedure

Table 1 shows the chemical composition of the alloy used in this
study before and after nodulizing treatment. The carbon equivalent
of about 4.4 was chosen for the starting alloy after some preliminary trails to avoid excessive formation of carbides on the surface of
the castings. In these trials the silicon content of the alloy was
gradually increased by ferrosilicon (75%Si) addition to the melt before magnesium treatment and the ease of cutting and machining
of the castings after squeeze casting were taken note of.
Afterward in each experiment the required quantity (about 5 kg)
of the chosen alloy was melted in a laboratory scale gas red crucible furnace and spheroidized by addition of 3 wt.% ferro-silicon
magnesium alloy (FeSi5 wt.%Mg) at 1400 C using a closed lid ladle method. The melt temperature was checked by a S-type thermocouple and a pyrometer. Subsequently, the melt was quickly
skimmed and poured into a preheated cylindrical die made of heat
treated H13 steel schematic illustration of which is shown in Fig. 1.
The die and the punch were coated with an Al2O3-based
ceramic coating and preheated to 400 C to increase their life and
discourage rapid solidication of the melt. Samples were cast under atmospheric pressure as well as 25, 50 and 75 MPa external
pressures applied by a preheated punch attached to the upper platen of a 100 tonnes hydraulic press. The applied pressure was kept
until the end of solidication. The castings were then removed

2.2. Microstructural examination

Characterization of graphite nodules in the matrix were carried
out on polished surfaces of the slices cut across the diameter of the
castings using standard metallographic techniques and Clemex image analysis software [15]. Samples were then etched with 2%Nital
solution (10 s to reveal ferrite and pearlite and 60 s to reveal
cementite) and microstructures of their matrices were characterized. For characterization of graphite nodules, a few images including at least 2700 nodules, taken randomly at given distances from
the castings wall (10, 25 and 40 mm), were analyzed and the
graphite content, graphite nodule count and average equivalent
sphere diameter of graphite nodules as well as their size distribution were measured. The nodule count was dened as the number
of graphite nodules per a specied unit of area (square millimeter
in present research). Equivalent sphere diameter (DEq) of each
graphite nodule was calculated according to Eq. (1) [15].

DEq 1:2247 

r
4A

where A is graphite nodule area in lm2. Energy dispersive X-ray

spectroscopy (EDS) technique was also used to identify small particles observed in the microstructures.

Fig. 2. (a) Locations of metallographic and tensile and impact test specimens on the castings, (b) dimensions of tensile test specimens, and (c) dimensions of impact test
specimens.

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H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

2.3. Mechanical tests

Tensile test specimens (Fig. 2b) were prepared in conformance
with ASTM E8 standard [16] and tension test were carried out
using a Hounseld tensile tester machine. Impact test specimens
(Fig. 2c) were prepared according to ASTM E23 standard [17] and
impact tests were done using of a 150 J Wolpert pendulum apparatus. Fractured surfaces of the impact test specimens were studied
using a PHILIPS XL-30 scanning electron microscope (SEM). Vickers
hardness was also measured at given distances from the wall of the
castings.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructural characterization
3.1.1. Microstructural characteristics of graphite nodules
Fig. 3 shows micrographs of non-etched surfaces of the castings
solidied under different applied pressures at 25 mm distance
from the castings wall. Size distributions of graphite nodules at
these locations are also shown in the images. As it can be seen from
the gure, almost all the graphite particles present in the castings
have spherical shape, and with increasing the applied pressure
from 0 to 75 MPa, the average size of graphite nodules decreases.
Riposan et al. [18] have recently dened a three-stage model for
nucleation of graphite in grey cast iron which involves nucleation
of graphite on complex suldes with diameters less that 5 lm
which themselves had nucleated on small oxides with diameters
less than 2 lm. Observation of a large number of graphite-like particles with diameters as small as 1 lm in the microstructures of the
castings, prompted the authors that some of these particles may
not be indeed graphite particles and might be just some surface defects formed during sample preparation. This can greatly distort
the image analysis results. Therefore, in order to clear the identity

of these small particles, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

(EDS) analysis was performed on some of the particles, examples
of which are shown in Fig. 4. EDS results showed that particle A
(DEq = 4 lm) and particle B (DEq = 2.8 lm) were indeed graphite,
but particle C (DEq = 3.6 lm) and particle D (DEq = 0.7 lm), which
would appear as graphite in optical microscopy examination, were
surface defects or other kinds of imperfections.
Based on the results EDS analysis, it was noticed that many of
the graphite-like particles with diameters of less than about
3 lm were not indeed graphite. Therefore, in order to increase
the certainty of the measurements, it was decided to leave the particles with DEq of equal or less than 3 lm out of the analysis. The
quantitative results presented in Fig. 3 and other gures are based
on this perception.
Fig. 5a shows the variation of the average graphite nodule diameter with the applied pressure at three different distances from the
castings wall. It reveals that the average nodule diameter has decreased continuously in all of three distances (for example from
11.7 lm to 9.3 lm at 25 mm distance from castings wall) when
the applied pressure was increased from 0 to 75 MPa. The percentage of ne graphite nodules which have average diameter less than
10 lm is also varied with applied pressure. Fig. 5b shows variation
of these small nodules percentage versus applied pressures at
three different distances from castings wall. As can be seen,
increasing of applied pressure results in a considerable increase
in the percentage of ne nodules (for example from 43.1% to
61.1% at 25 mm distance from castings wall).This is in conformance with size distribution histograms in Fig. 3. Fig. 5c demonstrates the effect of applied pressure on the free graphite content
of the microstructure. As shown, by increasing the applied pressure, the free graphite content of the microstructure has decreased
at all three distances (for example from 9.3% to 5.9% at 25 mm distance from castings wall). Fig. 5d shows the effect of the applied
pressure on the graphite nodule count at three different distances

Fig. 3. Micrographs of non-etched surfaces of the castings solidied under different applied pressures of: (a) 0, (b) 25, (c) 50, and (d) 75 MPa at 25 mm distance from the
castings wall.

H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

4751

the melting point of the former increases while that of the latter
decreases. From this account one would expect that, upon application of pressure on an eutectic cast iron alloy, the non-equilibrium
eutectic transformation to start at a higher temperature and the
equilibrium eutectic transformation to occur at a lower temperature. This would result in decreasing the temperature interval
between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium eutectic transformations. Decreasing the temperature interval between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium eutectic transformation has been
evidently shown to facilitate carbide formation and discourage
graphite formation during solidication [20]. Based on the above
accounts, therefore, decrease in the free graphite content of the
microstructure with increase in the applied pressure, as shown in
Fig. 5c, is expected.
The behavior presented in Fig. 5d is the results of two opposing
effects induced by increasing the cooling rate as the applied pressure increases. For given free graphite content, the graphite nodule
count is expected to increase when the nodule diameter decreases
at higher applied pressures (Fig. 5a). However, as Fig. 5c shows, the
free graphite content does not remain constant and falls when the
applied pressure is increased. The delicate balance between these
two effects will determine if the graphite nodule count is going
to increase or decrease with the change in the applied pressure.
It seems that at applied pressures higher than 50 MPa, the effect
of reduction in the free graphite content has overcome the effect
of reduction in the average graphite nodule diameter. Therefore
the highest graphite nodule count of 1582 mm2 was achieved at
about 50 MPa applied pressure.

Fig. 4. Results of EDS analysis on some of the particles resembling free graphite in
optical microscopy.

from castings wall. As shown, Increasing applied pressure from 0 to

50 MPa, the nodule count increases. But it was followed by a decrease when the applied pressure was further increased to 75 MPa.
Some important factors must be considered when studying the
effect of the applied pressure on the microstructural characteristics
of graphite nodules formed in the microstructure of ductile iron.
Different studies have shown that application of pressure on the
melt during solidication reduces the metal-mold air gap and
therefore increases the heat transfer coefcient between castings
and mold [2,19]. Increased cooling rate during solidication and
the ensuing higher undercooling of the melt is expected to result
in higher nucleation rate at the initial stages of solidication and
consequently ner but more abundant graphite nodules in accordance with Fig. 5a and b. This is in agreement with the ndings
of Ceccarelli et al. [13] on chill casting of austempered ductile iron
who reported that nucleation conditions were completely altered
due to high undercooling and that more eutectic cell appeared in
the structure.
Another effect of the applied pressure is the changes it brings
about in the liquidus temperature and the corresponding phase
diagram of the alloy. The nal carbon equivalent of the alloy used
in this study is about 4.4% which indicates a nearly eutectic alloy.
FeC phase diagram shows an equilibrium (austenite plus graphite) and a non-equilibrium (austenite plus iron carbide) eutectic
transformation at temperatures of 1154 and 1148 C, respectively
[20]. ClausiusClapeyron equation [2] reveals that during solidication under pressure, the system favors earlier formation of the
phases that have lower specic volumes (higher densities) than
the melt and hinders the formation of the phases that have higher
specic volumes (lower densities) than the melt. In other words,

3.1.2. Microstructural characteristics of the matrix

Fig. 6 shows the etched microstructures of the castings solidied under different applied pressures at 25 mm distance from
the castings wall. The microstructural features include ferrite,
pearlite and cementite whose corresponding percentages in different castings are shown in Fig. 7. Since the cementite phase is negligible at percentage (between 0% and 2.5% depends on applied
pressure) therefore, it is not clearly distinguishable at lower magnication. Fig. 8 shows cementite phase and eutectic ledeburite
structure in higher magnication.
As shown, the percentage of ferrite phase decreases from about
67% for the sample cast under atmospheric pressure to about 53%
for the sample cast under 75 MPa applied pressure. Conversely, the
pearlite and cementite content of the microstructures increase
from about 24% and 0% to about 38% and 2.8%, respectively, as
the applied pressure is increased from 0 to 75 MPa. The changes
in the microstructures are also the results of higher cooling rate
and facilitation of non-equilibrium eutectic transformation due
to the decrease in the temperature interval between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium eutectic transformations when the applied pressure is increased, as explained before.
3.2. Characterization of mechanical properties
3.2.1. Tensile properties and toughness
Fig. 9 shows the effects of applied pressure on the mechanical
properties of different castings. The gure reveals that as the applied pressure increases from 0 to 50 MPa, the ultimate tensile
strength, toughness and elongation of the squeeze castings increase from 559 MPa, 3.9 J and 1.6% to 620 MPa, 5.4 J and 4.6%,
respectively, but the yield strength (0.2% offset) remains almost
unchanged at about 475 to 480 MPa. Further increase in the
applied pressure to 75 MPa results in a decrease in the ultimate
tensile strength, toughness and elongation of the castings to
589 MPa, 4 J and 0.7%, respectively. It also results in an increase
in the yield strength (0.2% offset) to 500 MPa.

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H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

Fig. 5. Effect of applied pressure on (a) average graphite nodule diameter, (b) percentage of ne graphite nodules (DEq < 10 lm), (c) free graphite content, and (d) graphite
nodule count.

Fig. 6. Micrographs of etched surfaces of the castings solidied under different applied pressures of: (a) 0, (b) 25, (c) 50 and (d) 75 MPa at at 25 mm distance from the castings
wall.

H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

Fig. 7. Effect of applied pressure on ferrite, pearlite and cementite contents of the
microstructures at 25 mm distance from castings wall.

4753

Fig. 9. Effects of applied pressure on mechanical properties of the castings.

Fig. 10. NSA per unit volume variation versus applied pressure at 25 mm distance
from the castings wall.

Fig. 8. Enlarged optical microstructure of castings solidied under 75 MPa pressure

at 25 mm distance from castings wall: (a) graphite, pearlite and cementite phase,
and (b) ledeburite structure.

Since the load bearing properties of graphite particles are very

poor compared to those of the matrix alloy, they are normally regarded as defects or porosity from mechanical point of view. Gleiter
[21] has suggested an equation (Eq. (2)) that denes nal strength
change of materials based on matrix and particles strength.

Dr  K

5:2
2

G1=2 b

rp  rm

where rp and rm are respectively strength of particle and matrix, G

is shear modulus of the matrix in MPa, b is dislocations burger
vector and K is a constant coefcient. Knowing that rGr is lower

than rm, it can be seen from Eq. (2) that the graphite particles normally have a decreasing effect on material strength. Therefore,
properties improvement is anticipated when the size and the quantity of the graphite nodules are decreased. Although the conformance of the obtained experimental data with the stated theory,
they deviate from this trend at 75 MPa applied pressure (Fig. 9).
The ultimate tensile strength, toughness and elongation of the castings were dropped at 75 MPa applied pressure. This behavior can be
attributed to fracture micromechanism of ductile iron. Some
authors have investigated ductile iron fracture micromechanisms
and have shown that graphitematrix interfaces play an important
role in ductile iron fracture [22,23]. Therefore, calculation of graphitematrix interfaces area can be useful for explaining the properties variation with applied pressure. Assuming an ideal spherical
graphite nodule, nodules surface area (NSA) per unit volume of
the material is derived from the following equation:

AGr

3V Gr
r
3V

3
3V

Gr
Gr
AGr
3f
r Vt
r
Vt
Vt
r

where Vt is total volume of the material, AGr and VGr respectively are
surface area and volume of a spherical graphite nodule, r is radius of
graphite nodule and f is volume fraction of graphite. Fig. 10 shows
nodules surface area (NSA) per unit volume variations versus applied pressure at 25 mm distance from castings wall. As can be seen,
increasing applied pressure from 0 to 50 MPa, NSA per unit volume
decreases from 51  103 to 42  103 lm1 (equals to 17.6%

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H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

Fig. 11. SEM fractographs of the impact test samples for different applied pressures of: (a) 0, (b) 25, (c) 50, and (d) 75 MPa.

reduction). Further increasing applied pressure to 75 MPa, the NSA

per unit volume increases from 42  103 to 44  103 lm1. This
means that increasing the applied pressure up to 50 MPa, reduces
graphitematrix interfaces area about 17.6%. As a result, mechanical
properties improve up to 50 MPa due to retardation of micro cracks
initiation and propagation. Further increasing of applied pressure
results in graphitematrix interfaces increment and subsequently
easier micro crack initiation and propagation; therefore, mechanical
properties were dropped.
Comparison of Figs. 5 and 9 suggests that the collective effects
of graphite nodule diameter as well as those of free graphite content on the mechanical properties of squeeze cast ductile iron is
best presented by graphite nodule count. Although graphite nodule
count rst increases with the applied pressure, it falls above a critical pressure, where a signicant amount of eutectic cementite is
formed due to the increased cooling rate. Results of this study
showed that the maximum mechanical properties were obtained
at the applied pressure where the highest graphite nodule count
occurred.
3.2.2. SEM fractography
Fig. 11 shows the SEM fractographs of the impact test samples
for different applied pressures. The cleavage type and brittle nature
of the fracture in the ferrite phase surrounding the graphite nodules are clearly seen in Fig. 11a for the castings solidied under
atmospheric pressure. With increasing the applied pressure, some
dimples appear in the fractured surfaces pointing to improved ductility of the castings. This is related to a decrease in the graphite
nodule diameter and free graphite content and resultant lower
NSA per unit volume of alloy. The highest contribution of ductile
fracture was observed in the castings solidied under 50 MPa
(Fig. 11c). At 75 MPa applied pressure (Fig. 11d) the cleavage fracture appears to be the dominant fracture mode again because of
formation of higher amount of graphitematrix surface as well as
higher amount of cementite phase.

Fig. 12. Effects of applied pressure on Vickers hardness values of the castings.

3.2.3. Hardness
Fig. 12 shows the Vickers hardness values of the castings at
25 mm distance from the walls. As shown, the hardness increases
with the applied pressure. Hardness is mainly affected by the
microstructure of the matrix of the castings. The effect of applied
pressure on the microstructure of the matrices of the castings
was shown in Fig. 7. Decreased ferrite content and increased pearlite and eutectic cementite contents of the matrices, at higher
applied pressures, would result in higher hardness of the castings.
4. Conclusions
In this study, effects of applied pressure during solidication on
the microstructure and mechanical properties of a squeeze cast
ductile iron were investigated. The results showed that the average
graphite nodule size, the free graphite content and the ferrite content of the microstructures of the castings decreased as the applied
pressure was increased. On the other hand, the pearlite and the

H. Khodaverdizadeh, B. Niroumand / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 47474755

eutectic cementite content of the microstructures increased as the

applied pressure was increased. The highest graphite nodule count
was obtained at 50 MPa applied pressure. The microstructural
changes were associated with the improved cooling rate and the
expected changes in the corresponding phase diagram of the alloy
under pressure. The best combination of the mechanical properties
was achieved at 50 MPa applied pressure. Further increase in the
applied pressure, resulted in increased cementite content and decreased graphite nodule count which resulted in lower ultimate
tensile strength, fracture toughness and elongation of the castings.
Mechanical properties trend was explained graphitematrix interface debounding micromechanism. Hardness of the castings continuously increased with increasing the applied pressure.
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