Production of Selected Key Ductile Iron Castings Used in Large-Scale Windmills

Abstract

Both the optimal alloy design and microstructures that conform to the mechanical properties requirements of selected key components used in large-scale windmills have been established in this study. The target specifications in this study are EN-GJS-350-22U-LT, EN-GJS-350-22U-LT and EN-GJS-700-2U. In order to meet the impact requirement of spec. EN-GJS-350-22U-LT, the Si content should be kept below 1.97%, and also the maximum pearlite content shouldn’t exceed 7.8%. On the other hand, Si content below 2.15% and pearlite content below 12.5% were registered for specification EN-GJS-400-18U-LT. On the other hand, the optimal alloy designs that can comply with specification EN-GJS-700-2U include 0.25%Mn+0.6%Cu+0.05%Sn, 0.25%Mn+0.8%Cu+0.01%Sn and 0.45%Mn+0.6%Cu+0.01%Sn. Furthermore, based upon the experimental results, multiple regression analyses have been performed to correlate the mechanical properties with chemical compositions and microstructures. The derived regression equations can be used to attain the optimal alloy design for castings with target specifications. Furthermore, by employing these regression equations, the mechanical properties can be predicted based upon the chemical compositions and microstructures of cast irons.