Gray iron

Gray iron

Gray iron or grey iron was the original "cast iron". It is an alloy of carbon, silicon, and iron, containing from 1.7 to 4.5% C and 1 to 3% Si. It is relatively easy and inexpensive to make. Compared to the more modern engineered irons, gray iron has a lower tensile strength and lower ductility. In other words, it will fail more easily, and its mode of failure will be sudden fracture (it will not bend). It is used for housings where tensile strength is non-critical, such as engine blocks, pump housings, valve bodies, electrical boxes and decorative castings.

In grey cast iron, a large part or all of the carbon is in the form of flakes or nodules of graphites. The presence of graphite flakes gives capacity to damp vibrations caused by internal friction and, consequently, the ability to dissipate energy. Graphitic cast iron has a dark gray or almost black fracture. Upon small degree of super cooling, graphite is formed when the cast iron solidifies from its liquid state. Slow cooling promotes graphitisation. Rapid cooling partly or completely suppresses graphitisation and leads to formation of cementite. Rapidly cooled gray iron in which the carbon does not form graphite flakes, but rather combines with iron to form cementite is called white iron.


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  • Gray iron — Iron I ron ([imac] [u^]rn), n. [OE. iren, AS. [=i]ren, [=i]sen, [=i]sern; akin to D. ijzer, OS. [=i]sarn, OHG. [=i]sarn, [=i]san, G. eisen, Icel. [=i]sarn, j[=a]rn, Sw. & Dan. jern, and perh. to E. ice; cf. Ir. iarann, W. haiarn, Armor. houarn.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gray iron — Iron I ron ([imac] [u^]rn), n. [OE. iren, AS. [=i]ren, [=i]sen, [=i]sern; akin to D. ijzer, OS. [=i]sarn, OHG. [=i]sarn, [=i]san, G. eisen, Icel. [=i]sarn, j[=a]rn, Sw. & Dan. jern, and perh. to E. ice; cf. Ir. iarann, W. haiarn, Armor. houarn.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gray iron — Gray iron. См. Серый чугун. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • gray iron — noun : pig or cast iron containing much graphitic carbon which causes its fracture to be dark gray * * * pig iron or cast iron having much of its carbon in the form of graphite and exhibiting a gray fracture. [1655 65] * * * gray iron, a slightly …   Useful english dictionary

  • gray iron — pig iron or cast iron having much of its carbon in the form of graphite and exhibiting a gray fracture. [1655 65] * * * …   Universalium

  • gray iron — noun An alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that contains 1.7 to 4.5% carbon and 1 to 3% silicon …   Wiktionary

  • Gray irons — Iron I ron ([imac] [u^]rn), n. [OE. iren, AS. [=i]ren, [=i]sen, [=i]sern; akin to D. ijzer, OS. [=i]sarn, OHG. [=i]sarn, [=i]san, G. eisen, Icel. [=i]sarn, j[=a]rn, Sw. & Dan. jern, and perh. to E. ice; cf. Ir. iarann, W. haiarn, Armor. houarn.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Iron — I ron ([imac] [u^]rn), n. [OE. iren, AS. [=i]ren, [=i]sen, [=i]sern; akin to D. ijzer, OS. [=i]sarn, OHG. [=i]sarn, [=i]san, G. eisen, Icel. [=i]sarn, j[=a]rn, Sw. & Dan. jern, and perh. to E. ice; cf. Ir. iarann, W. haiarn, Armor. houarn.] [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Iron ore — Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the …   Wikipedia

  • iron processing — Introduction       use of a smelting process to turn the ore into a form from which products can be fashioned. Included in this article also is a discussion of the mining of iron and of its preparation for smelting.       Iron (Fe) is a… …   Universalium

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