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A Novel Method for Microstructural Characterization of Gray Cast Iron

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Abstract

The difficulty in the metallography of gray cast iron lies in the differentiation of ferrite and iron phosphide eutectic (steadite) microconstituents using normal etchants like nital and picral, and both phases appear bright (white color, unaffected) under normal light microscopy. Hence, it is difficult to find out the relative amounts of phases either photomicrographically or using sophisticated image analysis software. On the whole, the samples are etched with 2–3% nital for quantification of ferrite, steadite, pearlite, and carbides under optical (light) microscopy. This method of inspection requires high skill to differentiate the ferrite and steadite microconstituents, and also, sometimes it leads to misinterpretation which results in uncertainty in results. This led to the development of a novel etching method using “selenic reagent” which unveiled different microconstituents in the microstructure with higher confidence level.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank WABCO-TVS, Chennai, and Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras for their material and instrumental support, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Chennai, India

    J. P. Arul Mozhi Varman

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  1. J. P. Arul Mozhi Varman
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Correspondence to J. P. Arul Mozhi Varman.

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Arul Mozhi Varman, J.P. A Novel Method for Microstructural Characterization of Gray Cast Iron. Metallogr. Microstruct. Anal. 7, 168–175 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-018-0428-3

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