ADI was discovered almost 50 years ago and found successful commercial

application in 1972. Today ADI has become the material of choice for the designer,
as it offers the best design combinations of low cost, design flexibility,
machinability, high strength to weight ratio, good toughness, wear resistance &
fatigue strength. ADI is more environment friendly than many competing materials.
Overview
Material selection, processing, cost, product design, ease of availability,
environmental impact due to its use, & performance of the final product are
inseparable. ADI comes out with high scores on all these counts.
Making Of ADI
Molten Cast iron when treated with magnesium results in nodular iron on
freezing.
Graphite is present in a spheroidal form rather than as flakes.
Ductile iron has superior mechanical properties as compared to cast iron & is
cheaper than malleable iron.
Malleable irons were manufactured by subjecting white cast irons to very long heat
treatment cycles, and hence were very expensive
Ductile iron has replaced malleable irons entirely & steel / cast iron in many
applications.
Ductile iron when heated to the austenitic range [900o C approx] and
quenched in the range of 280o C to 500o C gives us Austemperted Ductile
Iron [ADI].
The original inventors called the process incomplete austempering as
the resultant microstructure contained large quantities of RETAINED
AUSTENITE [RA]. Incomplete austempered ductile iron exhibited high
elongation values as compared to normalized, hardened or fully bainitic
ductile irons for similar tensile strength levels.
Advantages
1. Lower in cost when compared to other competing manufacturing methods,
such as fabrication, wrought /machined, forged / machined.
2. Superior mechanical properties as compared to cast iron, weldments,
aluminum alloys, normalized or toughened ductile irons.
3. Energy consumption for a finished ADI product is almost half that of a forged,
machined & case carburised hardened component, for a similar application.

4. Ductile irons will exhibit superior damping capacity & machinability as

compared to steel.
5. ADI has a very low cost to strength ratio when compared to other commonly
used engineering materials.
Material.

Forged Al.

Cast Al.

Cast Steel

Forged Steel

H&T Steel

Ductile Iron

Unit Cost /
Unit Y.S.

20

12

6.

ADI exhibits transformation induced plasticity [TRIP]. Hence it has superior

wear resistance as compared to irons & steels of equivalent hardness values.
An ADI with a hardness value of 350 BHN (38 HRC) will have a wear resistance
equivalent to a case hardened steel of 60 HRC, making ADI a suitable choice for
gears, camshafts, rollers, & other wear parts. Wear resistance of ADI is further
enhanced by shot peening.
7.
Due to TRIP, ADI also has higher toughness & fatigue strength as compared
to
normalized / toughened ductile iron, nearing those of steel at times,
especially for the lower tensile grades.
Properties of Ductile Iron

Prior Metallurgical Parameters to Ensure Success with ADI

ADI.
1

1. Good foundry practice to ensure a sound casting free from shrinkage &
porosity. The austempering process cannot compensate for foundry
defects
2. Maintenance of proper and consistent chemistry. Recommended limits for
chemical composition are as follows: Carbon: 3.5/3.9%; Silicon: 2.3/2.7%;
Manganese: 0.25% max; Copper 0.8% max; Nickel:2.0% max;
Molybdenum: 0.25% max only for heavy sectioned castings.
3. Nodularity should be more than 80% & nodule count should be more
than 100/mm2
4. Minimum 50% pearlite in the matrix & less than 1% carbides prior to
austempering.
Nodularity

Microstructure of ductile irons of varying degrees of nodularity. (a) 99% nodularity.

(b) 80% nodularity. (c) 50% nodularity. All unetched. 36
Nodule Count

Series of micrographs depicting increasing nodularity in ductile irons. Upper left: 50

nodules per 10 mm square. Upper right: 100 nodules per 10 mm square. Lower left:
150 nodules per 10 mm square. Lower right: 200 nodules per 10 mm square. Aspolished. 100

Heat Treatment of ADI

AUSTENITISATION is typically done in the temperature range of 830 to 950 o C. Care
should be taken to prevent decarburization, carbon pick up & thermal shock during
austenitisation. If salt baths are used for heating, they should be free of cyanide as
carry over of cyan salts to the NITRITE/NITRATE BATH will lead to splashing of hot
salt & can cause severe injury. QUENCHING is normally done in a NITRITE / NITRATE
bath with or without water additions. Whenever water additions are done, proper
stirring is essential as the steam generated can result in splashing. Time &
Temperature for transformation are decided on the following basis:
Austenization & Transformation

TTT Curve

Heat Treatment of ADI

Selection of time & temperature are decided on the basis of:
1. Section thickness of the component
2. Grade of ADI: Higher the tensile, lower will be the quenching temperature,
but never below the Ms Temperature. Quenching temperatures are normally
between 250 to 425o C. Quenching time varies between 20 to 150 minutes.
Normally higher the tensile strength required, higher will be the temperature.
3. Pearlite content in the matrix prior to austenitisation.
4. Higher the austenitisation temperature greater will be the RA, greater will be
the austenite carbon content & the ferrite will be coarser. The austenitisation
conditions should be selected, with an aim for optimizing the mechanical
properties.
Ausferrite.(2% Picral)

Ausferrite(2% Nital)

Ausferrite.(2% Picral)

Strain Hardening.

Bad Nodularity.

ADI Showing Carbides due to presence of W 0.2%...

Post Austempering Processing & Inspection

1. Always look out for an AUSFERRITE structure & correct hardness after
austempering. Upto 3% martensite & 10 % bainite may be present with the
rest being AUSFERRITE. The 750 N/mm2 grade may also have some ferrite.
2. Dont look for BAINITE just because austempering has been done. A bainitic
structure of the same hardness will give lower elongation values than an
AUSFERRITE structure
3. Tempering or reheating ADI leads to a loss of toughness. Hence please avoid
this practice.
Observations & Conclusions
ADI is used in diverse components operating under extreme engineering conditions.
ADI is used for manufacturing crankshafts, camshafts, gears, sprockets, wear parts
in earthmovers, breaker body, suspension/chassis members etc. With the above
mentioned advantages many more components are in the development / change
over phase to be converted to ADI. Many organizations are studying the benefits of
ADI so as to reduce weight & cost of their finished products. ADI offers a great
opportunity for value addition & cost reduction to the engineering industry. ADI has
very wide spread applications and will definitely be a major growth area in the days
to come.
THANK YOU.
Please feel free to call on us @
ND Gupta Enterprises.

S 38, MIDC, Bhosari, Pune. 411026.

Tel.: 91-020-27120398, 91-020-27123850.
Email. ndgenterprises@gmail.com