Materials Science and Engineering A 383 (2004) 323333

Effect of rare earth element on microstructure formation and mechanical properties of thin wall ductile iron castings
J.O. Choi a , J.Y. Kim a , C.O. Choi b , J.K. Kim b , P.K. Rohatgi b,
b a Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Dong-A University, Busan, Republic of Korea Materials Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3200 N. Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA

Received 26 August 2003; received in revised form 21 April 2004

Abstract Ductile iron castings with 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 25 mm thickness and various amount of rare earth elements (RE) (from 0 to 0.04%), were cast in sand molds to identify the effects of sample thickness and the content of RE% on microstructural formation and selected mechanical properties. The effects of RE content and sample thickness on microstructural formation, including on graphite nodule count, graphite nodule shape, spherodization, and ferrite amount, were observed. The yield strength of the samples with RE within the range investigated were lower than those of the specimens without RE. The elongation was improved with the addition of RE up to 0.03% in ductile iron castings. The additions of 0.02% RE caused a smaller graphite nodule size and a higher number of graphite nodules than those in the specimen without RE at all levels of RE addition; the nodule count decreased with increase in section size. The chill zones were observed in the 2 mm thick samples, but were absent in the samples from castings which were thicker than 2 mm, irrespective of the addition of RE. The nodularity of graphite nodules improved due to the addition of 0.020.04% RE. The specimens with RE content up to 0.03% had a lower tensile strength and hardness, higher elongation than that of the specimens without RE. The ferrite content in all castings increased with additions of 0.02% RE. The tensile strengths of the 2 and 3 mm thick samples were also estimated using the relationship between strength and hardness, obtained from the data on the tensile strength and hardness of the 25 mm thick samples. 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ductile iron; Rare earth element; Thin wall casting; Nodularity

1. Introduction Increasing interest in energy saving has led to the development of lightweight materials and of new processes to reduce the weight of existing materials without compromising their properties. In the automotive industries, attempts have been made to replace cast iron and steel components with aluminum components and to develop the casting process to make thin wall ductile iron castings. Ductile irons possess reasonably high strength, good ductility and resistance to shock [1]. Therefore, they can meet many design requirements for automotive applications. Ductile cast irons also have some attractive properties, such as castability, machinability, wear resistance and impact resistance [1], as compared to those of steel. As a result, they have been used in many industrial sectors.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-414-229-4987; fax: +1-414-229-6958. E-mail address: prohatgi@uwm.edu (P.K. Rohatgi). 0921-5093/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.msea.2004.04.060

The use of thin wall ductile iron components in transportation systems will result in a weight reduction, that will result in energy savings and less environmental pollution due to lower fuel consumption. However, a reduction in the thickness of castings leads to an increase in strength but a decrease in ductility [2] due to the formation of chill zone due to faster solidication rate [3]. Avoiding the formation of chill zone is a major concern when producing thin wall ductile iron castings with improved ductility. Both gray cast iron and nodular cast iron can be made in the form of thin walled castings. However, nodule cast iron is more benecial for industrial applications due to its higher ductility than that of gray cast iron. The mechanical properties of thin wall ductile iron castings depend on various factors including the nodularity and number of graphite nodules, as well as the amount of ferrite [4]. In ductile iron castings, the nodularity is one of the most important factors inuencing the strength of the casting as failure will initiate from the edges of irregular shape for graphite particles. Borrajo et al. [5] observed that

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graphite nodule counts increase with decreasing solidication time and the nodularity increases with decreasing section thickness. Javaid et al. [2] observed that the elongation of 3 mm thick, thin walled castings increases with increasing Si content from 2.5 to 3% but decreases with increasing Mg content from 0.02 to 0.05%. The fracture toughness was not considerably inuenced by Si (2.253.5%) and Ce (0.0060.014%). In addition, the formation of graphite nodules are inuenced by a number of variables, including chemical composition, cooling rate, type, amount, and method of post-inoculation and pouring temperatures [611]. In this study, rare earth elements (RE) were added to ductile iron melts to identify the effect of RE content on the microstructure formation and mechanical properties of the matrix alloy. Samples with 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 mm thicknesses were cast and their hardness was measured. The effects of RE content and sample thickness on the graphite nodule count, graphite nodule size, spherodization, and ferrite amount were observed. The tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation, were also measured from the samples made from a Y block.

Fig. 1. Geometry of the Y-block (dimensions are in mm).

2. Experimental procedure Fourteen kilograms of melts was prepared by melting pig iron, gray iron, and steel scraps together using an induction furnace. The processes for spherodization and post-inoculation were performed on the melts. The spherodization process was performed by adding FeSiMg alloys into the melts at a melt temperature of 1500 C. In this process, the amount of rare earth elements in the nal casting were varied at 0, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04% to observe the effect of the amount of RE on the formation of graphite nodules. The analyzed chemical compositions of different RE content are shown in Table 1. The melts were post-treated by adding 0.2% of a FeSi type inoculant, after which the melts were poured into sand molds with a geometry shown in Fig. 1. In addition, the melts were poured into step bar molds as shown in Fig. 2, which enables making of samples with various thicknesses. The molds shown in Figs. 1 and 2 were CO2 sand molds. Four samples containing varied amount of RE were made using this process, and their chemical compositions are shown in Table 2.
Table 1 List of heats made for the present study and the chemical composition of the samples Heat number Chemical composition (wt.%) C 1 2 3 4 3.46 3.52 3.52 3.49 Si 2.56 2.41 2.41 2.48 Mn 0.23 0.23 0.26 0.26 P 0.017 0.016 0.019 0.018 S 0.015 0.015 0.019 0.014 Mg 0.044 0.045 0.043 0.045 RE 0.00 0.02 0.03 0.04 CE 4.32 4.33 4.32 4.32

Fig. 2. Schematic drawing of step-bars with different section thickness (dimensions are in mm).

Tensile testing specimens (Fig. 3) were made from castings obtained from Y blocks (Fig. 1) and their tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation were measured using an Instrong at a cross speed of 1.5 mm/min. Hardness
Table 2 Chemical composition of nodulizers Chemical compound kind C-6K C-5K C-5 C-8 Mg 6.30 4.30 5.07 8.14 Ca 1.60 1.50 1.80 3.26 RE 1.46 1.80 2.60 SI 44.5 44.0 44.0 44.0 Al <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 Fe Balance Balance Balance Balance

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R4 10

325

50 30 60 140

Fig. 3. Specimen for tensile test (dimensions are in mm).

tests were also performed on each sample using a Brinell Hardness tester. Average values of the hardness were obtained based on 10 measurements. A 3000 kg load was applied to specimens with thickness of 4, 6, 8, and 25 mm, and 500 kg for 2 and 3 mm.

The samples for microstructural observation were taken from the center of the thin walled castings made using the molds shown in Fig. 2. The microstructures of the samples were observed using a digital optical microscope (Leica-DM IRM HC) after polishing and etching using a Nital solution. The number and size of the graphite nodules were recorded, and chill formation was also documented from optical photographs with a 100 magnication. The graphite nodule count was determined by averaging the amount of nodules observed in 1 mm2 at 10 different locations. The nodularity of graphite nodules was determined using the following equation [12]: ni di R= (1) ni where R is the average diameter of spherical graphite, di is the measured diameter of graphite particle, and ni is the number of graphite particles with a specic size.

Fig. 4. Optical microstructures of the 2 mm thick specimens containing (a) 0%, (b) 0.02%, (c) 0.03%, and (d) 0.04% RE (100).

12

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3. Results and discussion 3.1. Microstructural observation The optical microstructures of the 2 mm thick specimens with varied RE content are shown in Fig. 4. It is shown that the distribution of graphite nodules are quite uniform. Chill zones form in all the specimens, but the extent of chill zones is less in the specimens containing RE. The higher the amount of RE, the less is the degree of chill zone formation and the more is the formation of graphite. The reduced chill zone formation in the specimens containing RE suggests that the presence of RE retards the initiation of cementite formation. Unlike RE, the addition of cerium was observed to enhance formation of chill zones [13,14]. Graphite nodules enveloped by ferrite in the pearlite matrix are also shown in Fig. 4. The difference in the thickness of the layer of ferrite around the graphite nodules between the alloys (a) containing RE and (b) without RE suggests that the addition of RE inuences the formation of ferrite. The layer of ferrite on the surface of graphite nodules is thicker in the specimens containing RE than in the specimen without RE, suggesting promotion of the formation of ferrite by the addition of RE.

The effects of RE content on microstructural formation in the 3 mm thick ductile iron castings are shown in Fig. 5. It is shown that the specimens with RE have smaller graphite nodules and a larger number of graphite nodules than those of the specimen without RE. This tendency suggests that the presence of RE plays a role in reducing the growth of graphite nodules and increasing their nucleation rate in the 3 mm thick specimen. This tendency is different from that observed in the 2 mm thick specimens (Fig. 4). It is also shown that the graphite nodule size and counts depend on the amount of RE. In the samples with RE, the nodule size decreases with increasing RE content to 0.02% and increases with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.03%. However, as RE content increases from 0.03 to 0.04%, the nodule size again decreases. This results suggest that the effect of RE on the nodule sizes and numbers of graphite nodules is very sensitive to the cooling rate due to a change in the thickness. The microstructures of thin walled castings change with their size due to the change in the solidication rates. Graphite nodule size decreases with an increased cooling rate of melts [8]. An increase in the thickness of specimens from 2 to 3 mm will lead to a decreased solidication rate, which may lead to a larger size of graphite nodules in the 3 mm thick specimens. When compared to that of the 2 mm thick specimen without RE, the microstructure of the

Fig. 5. Optical microstructures of the 3 mm thick specimens containing (a) 0%, (b) 0.02%, (c) 0.03%, and (d) 0.04% RE (100).

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Fig. 6. Optical microstructures of the 4 mm thick specimens containing (a) 0%, (b) 0.02%, (c) 0.03%, and (d) 0.04% RE (100).

3 mm specimen without RE shows much larger graphite nodules due to its lower solidication rate. However, in the 2 and 3 mm thick specimens containing RE, the size of the graphite nodules increases only slightly with the addition of RE due to an increase in sample thickness. This suggests that the addition of RE effectively reduces the growth rate of graphite nodules in the 3 mm thick specimen. The best effect of RE on the reduction in the growth rate of graphite nodules can be obtained at 0.02% in the 3 mm thick specimen (Fig. 5). Microstructures of the 4 mm thick specimens containing varied RE content are shown in Fig. 6. The addition of RE leads to a decrease in the size of graphite nodules and an improved nodularity, as was observed in Fig. 5. In the specimen without RE, there are many nonspherical graphite nodules; however, in the specimen with RE, the graphite nodules are more spherical in shape. The smallest graphite nodules were obtained in the specimen with 0.02% RE. It is also shown that a ferrite layer is thicker in the specimen without RE than in the specimens with RE, suggesting that the addition of RE plays a role in reducing ferrite formation. This same effect was observed in the 3 mm thick specimen. When examining the 8 mm thick specimens (Fig. 7), the graphite nodules in the specimen with 0.02% RE are smaller and larger in number than those in other specimens. In ad-

dition, due to a longer solidication time, the graphite nodules in these specimens are much larger and have a greater variation in size than those of the specimens observed in the previous microstructures from the thinner samples. As solidication time increases, graphite nodules which form earlier tend to be larger in size than those which form later, as shown in Fig. 7. It can also be noted that the layer of ferrite is much thicker than that found in the 6 mm thick specimens (Fig. 6), and that the specimens with RE exhibit a thicker ferrite layer than that of the samples without RE. These tendencies suggest that ferrite formation is enhanced by the addition of RE and a longer solidication time. The microstructures of the 25 mm thick specimens used for tensile testing are shown in Fig. 8. Due to a longer solidication time, the graphite nodules in the microstructures are much larger in size and much fewer in number than those of the previous samples solidied in shorter times. In addition, compared to the previous samples, the 40 mm thick specimens have some unique features: nonuniform graphite nodule size, fewer graphite nodules, and thicker ferrite layer. These features suggest that the addition of RE does not play a role in effectively reducing the growth rate of graphite nodules in the 40 mm thick specimens. This result suggests that ne graphite nodules can be obtained by adding RE in thin specimens exclusively.

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Fig. 7. Optical microstructures of the 8 mm thick specimens containing (a) 0%, (b) 0.02%, (c) 0.03%, and (d) 0.04% RE (100).

3.2. Graphite nodule count and size The effect of RE content on the diameter of graphite nodules in the specimens of varied thickness is shown in Fig. 9. In the sample without RE, the thinner the sample, the smaller the graphite nodules, due to a shorter solidication time. The same effect of sample thickness is observed in the specimen with RE; however, the addition of RE leads to a smaller graphite nodule size. In the specimens with RE, the diameter decreases with increasing RE content to 0.02% and increases with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.03%, irrespective of sample thickness. Kanetkar et al. [14] also observed a similar effect of La on graphite nodule count, as seen in Fig. 10(a). This shows that the graphite nodule count increases with increasing La content to 0.02% and decreases from 0.02 to 0.04%. Onsoien [9] also observed that the addition of Ce increases graphite nodule count with increasing Ce content to 0.020.04% and decreases with increasing RE content to 0.06%. In this study, the smallest graphite nodule size (13 m) was obtained in the 2 mm specimen with 0.02% RE; the largest (24 m) in the 8 mm thick specimen without RE. From the results, it can be noted that combination of the use of RE with a decrease in sample thickness is a desirable method to increase graphite nodule count. However, since this effect decreases at RE content

higher than 0.02%, it is necessary to maintain RE content around 0.02%. In Fig. 10a, it can be noted that graphite nodule count is higher in the thinner specimens; however, the specimens with RE have a larger number of graphite nodules than those in the specimens without RE. The 2 mm thick specimen with 0.02% RE has the highest graphite nodule count (890 count in 1 mm2 area); the lowest nodule count (120 count) was obtained in the 8 mm thick specimen without RE. The effect of an addition of RE is the highest in 0.02% RE and decreases with increasing RE content. At 0.04% RE, graphite nodule count is slightly higher than that in the specimen without RE, as shown in Fig. 10b. At 0.02% RE, a small variation in sample thickness leads a greater change in graphite nodule count. In fact, the number of graphite nodules are very important in terms of strength. Goodrich [19] suggested most desirable nodule count being 300 mm2 for suitable strength of ductile iron castings for industrial applications. The nodule counts shown in Fig. 10a suggests that the thin wall castings with RE may have a suitable strength for industrial applications, except the 8 mm thick castings with RE. In addition, graphite nodule counts which increase with decreasing the size of the nodules is of importance in terms of the oatation of the nodules. Since coarse graphite nodules, due to a small nodule count, tend to more readily oat [20], leading to a

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Fig. 8. Optical microstructures of the 25 mm thick samples containing (a) 0%, (b) 0.02%, (c) 0.03%, and (d) 0.04% RE (100).

nonuniform distribution of the nodules which may lead to nonuniform strengths. 3.3. Graphite nodularity The effect of RE content and sample thickness on graphite spherodization is shown in Fig. 11. In the specimens which do not contain RE, the spherodization of graphite nodules is strongly inuenced by sample thickness. It was observed that as the size of the samples increases, more irregular

Fig. 9. Relationship between the diameter of nodule and RE contents in ductile iron.

shaped graphite nodules tend to form due to a longer solidication time. The same tendency was reported by M. Onsoien [15] that the nodularity decreases with increasing solidication time. Therefore, with the addition of RE, a shorter solidication time is appropriate for obtaining thin wall castings with improved nodularity. However, the addition of RE in ductile iron castings whose thickness is in the range of 28 mm leads to a better spherodization of graphite nodules as compared to that in the specimens without RE. The spherodization was not signicantly inuenced by sample thickness with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.04%. The improved spherodization of graphite nodules due to the presence of RE appears to be related to a lower sulphur content, which reacts with Mg, in the specimens with RE. If the Mg content is low, more plate shape graphite particles form. Therefore, more plate graphite particles are in the specimens without RE, leading to a lower nodularity. The advantage of the use of RE is that graphite nodule with improved nodularity can be obtained even in large size castings. In fact, the strength and ductility of ductile iron is strongly dependent on the nodularity of graphite nodules. Graphite nodules with higher nodularity offer better strength since failure readily starts from the edge of irregular shaped graphite nodules. Therefore, it is crucial to obtain an improved nodularity of the graphite nodules for the enhancement of the properties of thin wall ductile iron castings.

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Fig. 10. (a) Relationship between the nodule count and RE contents in ductile iron and (b) the variation in graphite nodule count with sample thickness.

3.4. Amount of ferrite The amount of ferrite strongly inuences the ductility of ductile iron castings. To obtain an appropriate ductility of the castings, it is necessary to control the amount of ferrites formed. The variations in the amount of ferrite with RE content and sample thickness is shown in Fig. 12. It is shown that the amount of ferrite increases with increas-

ing RE content to 0.02% and decreases with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.04% with the exception of the 2 mm thick specimen. In the case of the 2 mm thick specimen, the amount of ferrite increases only slightly with increasing RE content to 0.02% and maintains a constant with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.04%. In the specimens with 0.02% RE, the ferrite amount is 10% when the sample thickness is 2 mm, and the amount of ferrite is between 50 and 60% when the sample thickness is greater than 2 mm. This indicates that when the sample with 0.02% RE is thicker than 2 mm, ferrite formation is not strongly inuenced by sample thickness and solidication time. However, when the sample contains RE more than 0.02%, the amount of ferrite depends on sample thickness and solidication time. To take advantage of the effect of RE, it is necessary to keep the content of RE around 0.02%, irrespective of sample thickness. Trace elements tend to inuence nucleation and growth of a new phase. Spheroid graphite particles in ductile iron castings formed with the help of nucleating agents, including cerium and magnesium [16,17]. In these experiments, the growth rate and nucleation rate of graphite nodules were not measured. However, the smaller graphite nodules in the specimens with RE appears to be associated with RE (Fig. 9). The effect of RE on a decrease in graphite nodule size is greatest at 0.02% RE (Fig. 9); the nodule count is highest and its size is smallest at 0.02% RE. With increasing RE content to 0.04%, the size increases and the amount decreases. These results suggest that RE change nucleation and growth rate by changing the liquidus temperature. The addition of RE appears to increase undercooling, as a result of which its nucleation rate is increased, but growth rate is decreased. These effects are likely to vary with RE contents; highest at 0.02% RE, resulting in the smallest graphite nodules and the largest amount of graphite nodules, and lowest at 0.04% RE. The effects also decreases with increasing sample thickness due to a decrease in cooling rate. Therefore, under the current experimental conditions, 0.02% RE

Fig. 11. Relationship between the nodularity and RE contents in ductile iron.

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Fig. 12. Change of amount of ferrite with RE-addition in various specimen.

and 2 mm thick mold cavity is the optimum condition for obtaining ne graphite nodules. 3.5. Mechanical properties The variation in the tensile and yield strength of 25 mm thick ductile iron castings with RE content is shown in Fig. 13(a). The addition of RE leads to a lower tensile and yield strength than those of the specimen without RE. The tensile and yield strength decrease with increasing RE content to 0.02% and increase slightly with increasing RE content to 0.04%. The strength of thin wall castings without RE elements is similar to that of GCD 500 (80-55-6: ASTM A 536). However, thin wall casting containing RE elements have a lower strength than GCD 450 (60-45-12: ASTM A 536). Javaid et al. [2] incorporated 2.25% of silicon into ductile iron castings and it was observed that the 12 mm thick casting has a tensile strength of 496 MPa, which is very similar to those of the 20 mm samples with 0.02 and 0.03% RE. In fact, since thinner castings have a higher strength [2], RE appears to more effectively increase the strength of ductile iron thin wall castings than Si. The effect of RE content on the elongation of the samples taken from castings shown in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 13(b). The elongation increases with increasing RE content from 0 to 0.02% and decreases with increasing RE content from 0.02 to 0.04%. At 0.04% RE, the ductility is similar to that of the base alloy. Thin wall castings containing 0.02 and 0.03% RE have a 10% higher ductility than GCD 450 (60-45-12: ASTM A 536). This higher ductility is presumably due to an increase in ferrite content and the formation of ne graphite nodules. In thin wall casting, the formation of chill causes a decrease in tensile strength, yield strength, and a decrease in ductility [5]. The data shown in Fig. 13(a) and (b) can be explained from Fig. 12 which shows the amount of ferrite as a function of RE. As can be seen from Fig. 12, that the specimens with 0.02% RE have higher amounts of ferrite (implying that larger amounts of pearlite will form in cast-

ing without RE). Since the strength of pearlite is higher than that of ferrite, the strength of casting without RE is likely to be higher than the castings containing 0.02% RE. The hardness test results as a function of RE content for the 25 mm thick sample are shown in Fig. 13(c). The addition of RE leads to a slight decrease in the hardness; however, the sample with 0.04% RE has a hardness slightly higher than that of the matrix alloy without any RE. The results of the hardness test for the samples, whose thicknesses are in the range of 28 mm, with varied RE content are shown in Fig. 14. It is shown that the hardness decreases with increasing RE content to 0.03%, but increases with increasing RE content to 0.04%. However, the hardness of the samples at 0.04% is higher than that of the base alloy for 3 and 8 mm thickness, not for 4 and 6 mm thickness. In general, the RE increases the hardness most effectively at 0.04%. The hardness of the 2 mm thick samples with 0.04% RE is 348 HB, which is the highest hardness of the samples tested. This hardness value is twice that of the 25 mm thick sample with 0.04% RE (Fig. 13(c)). 3.6. Effects of RE and sample thickness on the mechanical properties Tensile testing of samples with thickness from 2 to 8 mm thickness were not conducted due to their small size. The strength of the samples were estimated from the relationship between strength and hardness developed from the tensile strength data from 25 mm thick samples (Fig. 15); the relationship between the strength and the hardness can be expressed as strength (MPa) = 1.95 hardness (HB) + 220. The strengths of the samples with 28 mm thickness was estimated using this relationship, as shown in Table 3. When compared to the tensile strengths of the 25 mm thick samples (Fig. 13(a)), the estimated tensile strengths of the thin wall castings are much higher. The higher strength appears to be partially associated with a higher cooling rate of thinner wall castings. Smaller graphite nodules and improved nodularity may also contribute to the higher strength of thin-

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Fig. 14. Relationship between the hardness and the content of RE in ductile Iron.

Fig. 15. Relationship between the hardness and the tensile strength of 25 mm thick ductile iron castings.

Fig. 13. Effects of RE-addition: (a) in the tensile and yield strength of ductile iron castings with 25 mm thickness; (b) in the elongation of ductile iron castings with 25 mm thickness; and (c) on the hardness of ductile iron.

crostructures, including the amounts of ferrite, pearlite, and graphite, and nodularity, vary with sample thickness which inuences the cooling rate (Fig. 4) in samples both with and without RE additions. With the thickness of ductile iron castings decreasing from 25 to 2 mm, strength and hardness are expected to increases due to an increase in cooling rate, leading to a more ne microstructure in thinner sections (Figs. 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a and 8a). However, the strength may not vary exactly linearly with hardness in very thin section sizes. In ductile irons [21], the strength increases linearly with decreasing section thickness from 25 to 10 mm,
Table 3 Estimated values of the tensile strength of the specimens with a thickness of 2 and 3 mm with the addition of RE Section thickness (mm) Measured strength (MPa) Estimated strength (MPa) 25 2 3 RE content (%) 0 575 915 797 0.02 453 1015 797 0.03 453 852 680 0.04 521 1075 867

ner wall castings. It was reported that the an increase in the nodularity of graphite nodules from 70 to 90% leads to an increase in the strength from 435 to 444 MPa in ductile iron castings [18]. Strength and hardness of sample castings are a function of their microstructure which can be inuenced both by cooling rates and alloy additions. The general trend of relationships between strength and hardness are likely to remain similar for microstructural changes brought about by either cooling rate or alloy addition. As observed, the neness of mi-

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and has a linear relationship with hardness between 180 and 300 HB. To verify the exact nature of the relationship in thin sections, it is necessary to measure the strength of thin samples by developing a testing method for thin wall castings. In fact, the mechanical properties of ductile iron castings depend on various parameters, including the volume fractions of pearlite, ferrite and graphite nodules, thickness of ferrite and shape of graphite nodules. From Table 3, it can be noted that the thinner samples have a higher strength. However, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, while the microstructures of the 2 mm thick samples shows the formation of chill zone which leads to a lower ductility, the 3 mm thick samples do not show the formation of chill zone. In view of this, 2 mm thick ductile iron castings containing RE and made under the current experimental conditions are likely to be undesirable for industrial applications due to the formation of chill zone. However, castings of 3 mm thickness with 0.04% RE would appear to be appropriate for industrial applications. 4. Conclusions 1. Microstructural features in thin wall ductile iron castings, including the thickness of ferrite layer around graphite ferrite, graphite nodule size, and graphite nodule count, were observed to depend on the amount of rare earth elements and sample thickness. In the 2 mm thick specimens, the addition of RE leads to a decrease in the amount of chill formation, a higher graphite nodule count and size as compared to those in the specimens without RE. However, in the specimen whose thickness is in the range of 36 mm, the addition of RE led to a smaller graphite nodule size and a higher number of graphite nodules than those in the specimen without RE. These results suggest that the role of RE varies with sample thickness. In addition, chill formation was not observed in the samples thicker than 2 mm, irrespective of the addition of RE, suggesting that the effect of rare earth in reducing chill formation is important in very thin sections. 2. The nodularity of graphite nodules improved due to the addition of RE. In the samples without RE, the nodularity increases with decreasing sample thickness; the RE

addition signicantly reduced the variation in nodularity with sample thickness. 3. The amount of ferrite was observed to depend on RE content and sample thickness. The addition of RE led to a higher amount of ferrite than that of the specimens without RE. The ferrite content was the lowest for the 2 mm thick specimen with 0.02% RE. 4. The specimens with RE had a lower tensile and yield strength as compared to same thickness specimens without RE. The lower strength appears to be related to a lower amount of pearlite in the specimens with RE. The ductilities of the specimens with RE are lower than those of the specimens without RE.

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