Visto o alto custo gasto nas linhas de usinagem com processos de rebarbação e a crescente demanda na utilização do ferro fundido vermicular, principalmente em motores diesel, este trabalho visou investigar as rebarbas formadas no fresamento de faceamento em uma face similar à face de fogo de um bloco de motor de ferro fundido vermicular FV450. Foram utilizados insertos de metal duro em fresas de facear com 100 mm de diâmetro. Os ensaios foram divididos em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa foi estudada a influência da geometria da ferramenta e a formação da rebarba remanescente. Na segunda etapa foram aplicados os melhores resultados obtidos durante os ensaios da primeira etapa. Um planejamento fatorial completo foi utilizado para a determinação da quantidade de ensaios desta etapa, variando-se a velocidade de corte, o avanço, a profundidade de corte e o desgaste de flanco. A medição da rebarba foi realizada em duas posições diferentes na borda da peça em questão, gerando assim dois ângulos diferentes de saída da ferramenta da peça. Verificou-se que a altura da rebarba foi menor quando se utilizou insertos de geometria mais positiva. O desgaste e o ângulo de saída da peça interferiram de forma significativa no tamanho da rebarba. Também verificou-se a redução da rebarba com o aumento do avanço e da velocidade de corte e com a diminuição da profundidade de corte. Através do software STATISTICA 8.0 foram obtidos os valores dos efeitos principais e das interações, juntamente com o intervalo de confiança e erro padrão. Por fim o planejamento adotado permitiu a elaboração de um modelo empírico capaz de predizer a altura da rebarba. / Since the high cost spent on machining lines with deburring processes and the growing demand in the use of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI), especially in diesel engines, this work aims to investigate the burr formation mechanisms during face milling of CGI FV450, in a face similar to the combustion face of an engine cylinder block. Carbide inserts were used in a 100 mm of diameter milling cutter. The tests were divided into two stages. In the first stage the following variables were studied: tool geometry and milling with remaining burrs from previous milling. In the second stage, were applied the best results obtained during the tests of the first stage. A Complete Factorial Planning was used to specify the amount of experiments, varying cutting speed, feed rate, cutting depth and the flank wear. The burrs measurement was performed in two different positions of the workpiece exit border, generating two different exit angle from the workpiece. It was found that the burr height was lower with more positive geometry. The wear of the tool and exit angle from the workpiece interfered significantly the burr height. It was observed the decrease of the burr height with the increase of the feed rate and cutting speed and with the decrease of the cutting depth. Through the software STATISTICA 8.0 values were obtained for main effects and interactions, along with confidence intervals and standard error. Finally, the plan adopted allowed the development of an empirical model capable of predicting the burr height.

ABSTRACT AN INVESTIGATION OF COMPACTED GRAPHITE IRON PRODUCTION BY MEANS OF THERMAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE AND OTHER PROCESS CONTROL WINDOWS El-mabrouk, Omar PhD, Metallurgical and Material Engineering Department Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ali Kalkanli January 2007, 123 pages Compacted graphite irons have been proved valuable in many applications such as exhaust manifolds, hydraulic valves, and diesel engine blocks, the process of producing compacted graphite irons is not a straight forward process because of its narrow processing windows and its high sensitivity to the section thickness, treatment reaction time, pouring temperatures and charge composition. In this thesis, compacted graphite was produced with minimum variations through all section thickness and the effect of Mg/S ratio, section thickness, and treatment agents on the graphite morphology, electrical resistivity property and fracture strength at high temperatures was investigated. The range of Mg/S ratio and the section thickness was from 2/3 to 7/1 and 5 mm to 40 mm respectively. FeSiMg and FeSiMg cermish metal were used as a treatment agent. Optical metallographic method was implemented to investigate the graphite morphology change. For being a distinguishable characteristic for compacted graphite iron over ductile iron, thermal conductivity changes at high temperatures ranging from room temperature to 500 0C was examined by a suitable electrical setup in the manner of electrical conductivity changes by measuring the electrical resistance. On the other hand, due to the higher values of mechanical properties of compacted graphite iron over those of gray iron, tensile strength was also examined by means of tensile test. The relation between the compacted graphite shape and the alloy properties such as fracture strength and thermal conductivity was investigated. The most important controlling parameters to produce compacted graphite are Mg/S ratio and oxygen activity. The relation between these parameters with both fracture strength and thermal conductivity was established by means of multiple regression analysis technique.

<p>The Swedish truck industry is forced to find new material solutions to achieve lighter engines with increased strength. Customers and new environmental regulations demand both higher specific power and more environmentally friendly trucks, and this places a rising pressure on the manufactures. This demand could be met by increasing the peak pressure in the cylinders. Consequently, a more efficient combustion is obtained and the exhaust lowered. This however exposes the engine to higher loads and material physical properties must therefore be enhanced.</p><p>Today, alloyed gray iron is the predominantly used engine material. This material cannot meet the requirements of tomorrow’s engines. Compacted Graphite Iron has good potential to be the replacement; it opens new design opportunities with its superior strength, which can lead to smaller, more efficient engines and additional power. The question is: how will manufacturing be affected?</p><p>The main goal of this thesis is to identify and investigate the main factors’ effect and their individual contributions on CGI machining.  When the relationship between the fundamental features; machinability, material microstructure, and material physical properties, are revealed, then the CGI material can be optimized, both regarding the manufacturing process and design requirements. The basic understanding is developed mainly through experimental analysis. No attempt has been made to optimize the material to be used as engine material in this thesis.</p><p>The thesis demonstrates the importance of having good casting process control. It also illustrates the microstructural properties’ effects on CGI machinability, and what new aspects of machining must be taken into account, compared to gray iron.</p> / OPTIMA CGI

Visto o alto custo gasto nas linhas de usinagem com processos de rebarbação e a crescente demanda na utilização do ferro fundido vermicular, principalmente em motores diesel, este trabalho visou investigar as rebarbas formadas no fresamento de faceamento em uma face similar à face de fogo de um bloco de motor de ferro fundido vermicular FV450. Foram utilizados insertos de metal duro em fresas de facear com 100 mm de diâmetro. Os ensaios foram divididos em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa foi estudada a influência da geometria da ferramenta e a formação da rebarba remanescente. Na segunda etapa foram aplicados os melhores resultados obtidos durante os ensaios da primeira etapa. Um planejamento fatorial completo foi utilizado para a determinação da quantidade de ensaios desta etapa, variando-se a velocidade de corte, o avanço, a profundidade de corte e o desgaste de flanco. A medição da rebarba foi realizada em duas posições diferentes na borda da peça em questão, gerando assim dois ângulos diferentes de saída da ferramenta da peça. Verificou-se que a altura da rebarba foi menor quando se utilizou insertos de geometria mais positiva. O desgaste e o ângulo de saída da peça interferiram de forma significativa no tamanho da rebarba. Também verificou-se a redução da rebarba com o aumento do avanço e da velocidade de corte e com a diminuição da profundidade de corte. Através do software STATISTICA 8.0 foram obtidos os valores dos efeitos principais e das interações, juntamente com o intervalo de confiança e erro padrão. Por fim o planejamento adotado permitiu a elaboração de um modelo empírico capaz de predizer a altura da rebarba. / Since the high cost spent on machining lines with deburring processes and the growing demand in the use of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI), especially in diesel engines, this work aims to investigate the burr formation mechanisms during face milling of CGI FV450, in a face similar to the combustion face of an engine cylinder block. Carbide inserts were used in a 100 mm of diameter milling cutter. The tests were divided into two stages. In the first stage the following variables were studied: tool geometry and milling with remaining burrs from previous milling. In the second stage, were applied the best results obtained during the tests of the first stage. A Complete Factorial Planning was used to specify the amount of experiments, varying cutting speed, feed rate, cutting depth and the flank wear. The burrs measurement was performed in two different positions of the workpiece exit border, generating two different exit angle from the workpiece. It was found that the burr height was lower with more positive geometry. The wear of the tool and exit angle from the workpiece interfered significantly the burr height. It was observed the decrease of the burr height with the increase of the feed rate and cutting speed and with the decrease of the cutting depth. Through the software STATISTICA 8.0 values were obtained for main effects and interactions, along with confidence intervals and standard error. Finally, the plan adopted allowed the development of an empirical model capable of predicting the burr height.

This thesis deals with the production of compact graphite iron in a foundry HEUNISCH Brno, s.r.o. The first part describes the structure, chemical composition, properties, methods of modification and inoculation. The following section describes the production of cast iron, metallographical evaluation of the planimetric method and image analysis.

The Swedish truck industry is forced to find new material solutions to achieve lighter engines with increased strength. Customers and new environmental regulations demand both higher specific power and more environmentally friendly trucks, and this places a rising pressure on the manufactures. This demand could be met by increasing the peak pressure in the cylinders. Consequently, a more efficient combustion is obtained and the exhaust lowered. This however exposes the engine to higher loads and material physical properties must therefore be enhanced. Today, alloyed gray iron is the predominantly used engine material. This material cannot meet the requirements of tomorrow’s engines. Compacted Graphite Iron has good potential to be the replacement; it opens new design opportunities with its superior strength, which can lead to smaller, more efficient engines and additional power. The question is: how will manufacturing be affected? The main goal of this thesis is to identify and investigate the main factors’ effect and their individual contributions on CGI machining.  When the relationship between the fundamental features; machinability, material microstructure, and material physical properties, are revealed, then the CGI material can be optimized, both regarding the manufacturing process and design requirements. The basic understanding is developed mainly through experimental analysis. No attempt has been made to optimize the material to be used as engine material in this thesis. The thesis demonstrates the importance of having good casting process control. It also illustrates the microstructural properties’ effects on CGI machinability, and what new aspects of machining must be taken into account, compared to gray iron. / QC 20101105 / OPTIMA CGI

This thesis focuses on the effect of microstructural variation on the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of ductile iron. To research and determine these effects, two grades of ductile iron, (i) GJS-500-7 and (ii) high silicon GJS-500-14, were cast in a geometry containing several plates with different section thicknesses in order to produce microstructural variation. Microstructural investigations as well as tensile and hardness tests were performed on the casting plates. The results revealed higher ferrite fraction, graphite particle count, and yield strength in the high silicon GJS-500-14 grade compared to the GJS-500-7 grade. To study the relationship between the microstructural variation and tensile behavior on macroscale, tensile stress-strain response was characterized using the Ludwigson equation. The obtained tensile properties were modeled, based on the microstructural characteristics, using multiple linear regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The models showed that silicon content, graphite particle count, ferrite fraction, and fraction of porosity are the major contributing factors that influence tensile behavior. The models were entered into a casting process simulation software, and the simulated microstructure and tensile properties were validated using the experimental data. This enabled the opportunity to predict tensile properties of cast components with similar microstructural characteristics. To investigate deformation behavior on micro-scale, a method was developed to quantitatively measure strain in the microstructure, utilizing the digital image correlation (DIC) technique together with in-situ tensile testing. In this method, a pit-etching procedure was developed to generate a random speckle pattern, enabling DIC strain measurement to be conducted in the matrix and the area between the graphite particles. The method was validated by benchmarking the measured yield strength with the material’s standard yield strength. The microstructural deformation behavior under tensile loading was characterized. During elastic deformation, strain mapping revealed a heterogeneous strain distribution in the microstructure, as well as shear bands that formed between graphite particles. The crack was initiated at the stress ranges in which a kink occurred in the tensile curve, indicating the dissipation of energy during both plastic deformation and crack initiation. A large amount of strain localization was measured at the onset of the micro-cracks on the strain maps. The micro-cracks were initiated at local strain levels higher than 2%, suggesting a threshold level of strain required for micro-crack initiation. A continuum Finite Element (FE) model containing a physical length scale was developed to predict strain on the microstructure of ductile iron. The material parameters for this model were calculated by optimization, utilizing the Ramberg-Osgood equation. The predicted strain maps were compared to the strain maps measured by DIC, both qualitatively and quantitatively. To a large extent, the strain maps were in agreement, resulting in the validation of the model on micro-scale. In order to perform a micro-scale characterization of dynamic deformation behavior, local strain distribution on the microstructure was studied by performing in-situ cyclic tests using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A novel method, based on the focused ion beam (FIB) milling, was developed to generate a speckle pattern on the microstructure of the ferritic ductile iron (GJS-500-14 grade) to enable quantitative DIC strain measurement to be performed. The results showed that the maximum strain concentration occurred in the vicinity of the micro-cracks, particularly ahead of the micro-crack tip. / Denna avhandling fokuserar på effekten av variationer i mikrostrukturen på mekaniska egenskaper och deformationsbeteende hos segjärn. För att undersöka dessa effekter, två olika sorter av segjärn, (i) GJS-500-7 och (ii) högkisellegerad GJS-500-14, gjutits till plattor av olika tjocklekar för att generera mikrostrukturvariationen. Mikrostrukturundersökning, samt drag- och hårdhetsprov gjordes på de gjutna plattorna. Resultaten visade att en högre ferritfraktion, grafitpartikelantal och sträckgräns i den högkisellegerade GJS-500-14-sorten jämfört med GJS-500-7. För att studera förhållandet mellan mikrostrukturell variation och spännings-töjningsbeteendet på makroskala, modellerades detta med hjälp av Ludwigson-ekvationen. De erhållna spännings-töjningsegenskaperna modellerades baserat på mikrostrukturell karaktäristika genom multipel linjärregression och variansanalys (ANOVA). Modellerna visade att kiselhalt, grafitpartikelantal, ferritfraktion och porfraktion var de viktigaste bidragande faktorerna. Modellerna implementerades i ett simuleringsprogram för gjutningsprocessen. Resultatet från simuleringen validerades med hjälp av experimentella data som inte ingick i underlaget för regressionsanalysen. Detta möjliggjorde att prediktera spännings-töjningsbeteendet och dess variation hos gjutna segjärns komponenter med liknande sammansättning och gjutna tjocklekar som användes i denna studie. För att kunna undersöka deformationsbeteendet på mikroskala utvecklades en metod för kvantitativ mätning av töjning i mikrostrukturen, genom DIC-tekniken (digital image correlation) tillsammans med in-situ dragprovning. I denna metod utvecklades en grop-etsningsprocess för att generera ett slumpvis prickmönster, vilket möjliggjorde DIC-töjningsmätning i matrisen och i området mellan grafitpartiklarna med tillräcklig upplösning. Metoden validerades genom benchmarking av den uppmätta sträckgränsen mot materialets makroskopiska sträckgräns mätt med konventionell dragprovning. Det mikrostrukturella deformationsbeteendet under dragbelastning karakteriserades. Under elastisk deformation avslöjade töjningsmönstret en heterogen töjningsfördelning i mikrostrukturen, och bildandet av skjuvband mellan grafitpartiklar. Sprickbildning initierades vid låg spänning och redan vid de spänningsnivåer som ligger vis ”knät” på dragprovningskurvan, vilket indikerar energidissipering genom både begynnande plastisk deformation och sprickbildning. Den lokala töjningen vis sprickinitiering skedde då den lokala töjningen översteg 2%, vilket indikerar att detta skulle kunna vara en tröskelnivå för den töjning som erfordras för initiering av mikro-sprickor. En kontinuum Finita Element (FE) modell utvecklades för att prediktera töjningen hos ett segjärn och dess fördelning i segjärns mikrostruktur. Materialparametrarna för denna modell optimerades genom att anpassa parametrarna i Ramberg-Osgood ekvationen. De predikterade töjningsfördelningarna jämfördes med de experimentell uppmätta töjningsmönstren uppmätta med DIC, både kvalitativt och kvantitativt. Töjningsmönstren överensstämde i stor utsträckning, vilket resulterade i att modellerna kunde anses vara validerade på mikronivå. För att kunna mäta töjningsmönster under dynamiska förlopp på mikronivå utvecklades en metod för att skapa prickmönster och att utföra in-situ CT provning i ett svepeletronmikroskop (SEM). Prickmönstret skapades genom avverkning med en fokuserad jonstråle (FIB), och provades på det ferritiska segjärnet (GJS-500-14 grad). Resultaten visade att maximal töjningskoncentration fanns i närheten av mikrosprickorna, framförallt framför sprickspetsen.