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13.

CHARGE CALCULATIONS
It is very important in the foundry to know the final composition of the metal
being obtained, so as to control it properly. The elements in the final analysis are
essentially the sum total of what is contained in each of the charge ingredients, with some
losses or pickup in the cupola. Out of the various elements, the ones that are relevant are
carbon, silicon, manganese and sulphur.
As the charge comes through the coke bed, some amount of carbon is picked up
by the metal depending on the temperature and the time when the metal is in contact with
the coke. However, it may be reasonable to assume a pick up of the order of 0.15%
carbon.
Silicon is likely to get oxidized in the cupola and therefore, a loss of 10 % of total
silicon contained in the charge is normal. Under the worst conditions, it may go as high as
30 %. If the silicon content in the charge is not high, extra silicon can be added by
inoculating the metal in the ladle with ferro- silicon.
Manganese is also likely to be lost in the melting process. The loss could be of the
order of 15 to 20 %. Loss of manganese in the final analysis, can be made up by the
addition of ferro manganese.
Similar to carbon, sulphur is also likely to be picked up from coke during melting.
The pick up depends on the sulphur content of the coke, but a reasonable estimate could
be 0.03 to 0.05 %.
Examples are presented below for estimating the final analysis of the melt.
EXAMPLE 13.1
Estimate the final composition of the cast iron produced with the following charge
compositions and proportions.
Carbon Silicon Manganese Sulphur Phosphorous %
Pig iron 1
3.50
2.50
0.40
0.01
0.40
40
Pig iron 2
3.20
1.50
1.00
0.02
0.60
35
CI scrap
3.20
1.20
0.50
0.10
0.40
25
Let us now analyse the total amount of elements present in 1 ton ( 1000 kg ) of
charge, assuming carbon pick up as 15 %, sulphur pick up as 0.05 %, silicon loss as 10
% and manganese loss as 20 %.
Pig iron 1
Pig iron 2
CI scrap
Total
Change %
Change in cupola
Final analysis

Charge mass,
(kg)
400
350
250
1000

C
Si
Mn
S
%
kg
%
kg
%
kg
%
kg
3.50 14
2.50 10
0.40 1.60
0.01 0.04
3.20 11.2
1.50 5.25
1.00 3.50
0.02 0.07
3.20 8
1.20 3
0.50 1.25
0.10 0.25
33.2
18.25
6.35
0.36
3.32
1.825
0.635
0.036
+0.15
0.183
0.127
+0.050
3.47
1.642
0.508
0.086

The foundry engineer can actually control his final analysis by actually trying with
various mixes of charge materials available in his foundry to obtain an economical melt.
The following example presents one such case.
EXAMPLE 13.2
In a foundry, it was required to obtain a cast metal with the following

composition: carbon 3.20 to 3.60%; silicon 2.30 to 2.60%; manganese 0.60 to 0.80%;
sulphur 0.08% maximum; and phosphorous 0.40 to 0.60%. If the following raw materials
are available, estimate the best charge proportions.
C
Si
Mn
S
P
Pig iron 1
3.50 3.00 1.00 0.02 0.40
Pig iron 2
3.20 1.50 0.50 0.01 0.80
Pig iron 3
3.50 2.50 0.80 0.02 0.50
Scrap 1
3.50 1.80 0.60 0.08 0.50
Scrap 2
3.20 1.20 0.60 0.10 0.40
Ferro silicon
50.00
Looking at the raw materials available, pig iron 2 has got very low silicon content,
and therefore it should not be used. Similarly the scrap 2 which has low silicon and high
sulphur may also be eliminated. So the final choices are the pig iron 1 and 3 and scrap 1.
Let the charge be of 40% of scrap with the pig irons in equal proportions of 30% each.
Let us do the analysis for 1000 kg with the carbon pick up assumed as 0.15%,
sulphur as 0.05%, the oxidation losses of silicon as 10% and that of manganese as 20%.
Pig iron 1
Pig iron 3
Scrap 1
Total
Change %
Change in cupola
Final analysis
Required

Charge mass,
(kg)
300
300
400
1000

Si

Mn

%
3.50
3.50
3.50

kg
%
kg
%
kg
%
kg
10.5 3.00
9.00 1.00
3.00 0.02
0.06
10.5 2.50
7.50 0.80
2.40 0.02
0.06
14.0 1.80
7.20 0.60
2.40 0.08
0.32
35.0
23.70
7.80
0.44
3.50
2.37
0.78
0.044
+0.15
0.237
0.156
+0.05
3.65
2.133
0.624
0.94
3.2 to 3.6
2.3 to 2.6
0.6 to 0.8
0.08 max

With the chosen charge composition, the final analysis differs from the required
one with carbon, silicon and sulphur percentages. To reduce the carbon and sulphur
percentages, we may have to use pig iron 2 which may reduce the silicon percentage but
that can be made up by adding suitable amount of ferro silicon.
The reduction in sulphur that could be achieved by the addition of 1 kg of pig iron
2 for scrap 1 is
0.08 0.01
0.0007 kg
100
The reduction in carbon that could be achieved by the addition of 1 kg of pig iron 2 for
scrap 1 is
3.50 3.20
0.003 kg
100
The excess sulphur present in 1000 kg is
1000 (0.094 0.080)
0.14 kg
100
The excess carbon present in 1000 kg is
1000 (3.65 3.60)
0.5 kg
100
To reduce the sulphur to the desirable limit, the amount of pig iron 2 to be substituted is
0.14
200 kg
0.0007

To reduce the carbon to the desired limit, the amount of pig iron 2 to be substituted is
0.50
167 kg
0.003
Hence, substitution of 200 kg of pig iron would be sufficient to give the desired analysis.
To confirm this let us do a fresh analysis.
Pig iron 1
Pig iron 2
Pig iron 3
Scrap 1
Total
Change %
Change in cupola
Final
Desired

Charge mass,
(kg)
300
200
300
200
1000

C
%
3.50
3.20
3.50
3.50

kg
10.5
6.4
10.5
7.0
34.4
3.44
+0.15
3.59
3.2 3.6

Si
%
3.00
1.50
2.50
1.80

kg
9.00
3.00
7.50
3.60
23.10
2.31
0.231
2.079
2.3 2.6

Mn
%
1.00
0.50
0.80
0.60

kg
3.00
1.00
2.40
1.20
7.60
0.76
0.1525
0.608
0.6 0.8

S
%
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.08

kg
0.06
0.02
0.06
0.16
0.30
0.03
+0.05
0.08
0.08 max

It is not possible to increase silicon any further, and therefore, the only way out is
to add ferro silicon of requisite amount to make up the short fall.
Amount of silicon to be added for 1000 kg is
1000 (2.300 2.079)
2.21 kg
100
This can be made up by adding 5 kg of ferro silicon in place of scrap 1.
5 (50.0 1.80)
2.41 kg
Extra silicon added =
100
So, the final mix of the charge is
Pig iron 1
= 300 kg = 30 %
Pig iron 2
= 200 kg = 20 %
Pig iron 3
= 300 kg = 30 %
Scrap 1
= 195 kg = 19.5 %
Ferro silicon = 5 kg = 0.5 %
In the previous example, we have proceeded with a trial and error method and
have not considered the cost of various constituents of the charge. A more appropriate
analysis would be to take into account the cost of each of the constituents of the charge
and the chemical compositions. This can be done by formulating the linear programming
problem and solving it by the simplex method.
PROBLEMS
13.1 On a particular day, an iron foundry prepared the charge for cupola as 20% pig
iron 1, 25% pig iron 2, and 55% scrap iron. Find the final composition of the
produced melt, given the following compositions for the charge elements. Assume
suitable losses or gains in the cupola.
Carbon Silicon Manganese Sulphur
%
%
%
%
Pig iron 1
3.20
1.70
0.80
0.03
Pig iron 2
3.50
2.40
0.60
0.01
Scrap iron
3.25
2.30
0.65
0.08
13.2

A foundry engineer is required to produce castings with 3.10 to 3.50% carbon,


2.00 to 2.40% silicon, 0.60 to 1.00% manganese and a maximum of 0.08%

sulphur. The pickup in cupola is approximately: carbon 0.15% and sulphur 0.04%.
The losses in cupola are 10% silicon and 20% manganese. If he has the following
raw materials at his disposal, what should be the best charge composition?
Carbon Silicon Manganese Sulphur
%
%
%
%
Pig iron 1
3.20
1.70
0.80
0.03
Pig iron 2
3.20
1.85
0.60
0.01
Pig iron 3
3.50
2.10
0.70
0.02
Scrap 1
3.25
2.30
0.65
0.08
Scrap 2
3.30
2.10
0.80
0.10
Ferro silicon

50.00

13.3

pecify the composition of the charge to be used for producing 8 metric tons of the
following grey iron: 3.20 to 3.60% carbon, 2.2 to 2.6% silicon, and a maximum of
0.08% sulphur. Thae available raw materials and their compositions are given
below:
Carbon Silicon Sulphur
%
%
%
Pig iron 1
3.25
2.75
0.05
Pig iron 2
3.50
2.40
0.01
Pig iron 3
3.45
2.50
0.01
Iron scrap
3.00
2.00
0.08
Ferro silicon

50.00

13.4

A grey iron foundry produced 7500 kg of good castings in a day. The charge
consisted of 25% pig iron 1, 25% pig iron 2 and 50% iron scrap. The composition
of the charge was found to be as follows:
Carbon Silicon Sulphur
%
%
%
Pig iron 1
3.50
3.25
0.03
Pig iron 2
3.25
2.75
0.05
Iron scrap
3.00
2.00
0.08
The castings were found to contain 2.25% silicon and 0.0602% sulphur. Find the
percentage gain or loss of silicon and sulphur during melting.

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