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 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 1 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA
Aging and Machinability Interactions in Cast Iron
S.N. Lekakh, V.L. Richards
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Copyright 2012 American Foundry Society
ABSTRACT
This paper summarizes the study of the effect of natural
aging of cast iron on casting machinability. In the first
part, cast iron natural aging kinetics are discussed, taking
into consideration the effects of alloying elements, which
are nitride-forming (Ti), carbide-forming (Cr) and
nitrogen mobility modifiers (Mn). The study has
quantitatively established the aging process as a function
of temperature and cast iron chemistry. For practical
application, an aging time diagram was developed. A
second part of the review includes measurement of
machinability with respect to aging conditions, using such
parameters as a cutting force, tool wear, surface quality
and dimensional accuracy. Relationships between cast
iron aging and casting machinability were verified in
multiple laboratory and industrial tests. In this paper,
different possible scenarios for improving casting
machinability are discussed and optimal operating
parameter windows are suggested. Finally, as a
demonstration case, the optimal aging time for improving
casting machinability was calculated based on cast iron
chemistry and was experimentally verified.
Keywords: cast iron, aging, machinability, structure
CAST IRON NATURAL AGING
As a final step in this project, there is an opportunity to
retrospectively map and codify the understanding of how
age strengthening affects machinability, so that foundries
may be able to utilize the strength improvement by aging
and to schedule the optimal operation parameter window
for improving casting machinability. The mechanism by
which age strengthening changes the machinability of
graphitic cast irons is also discussed in this paper.
AGING KINETICS
Room-temperature aging phenomena in different types of
ferrous alloys, including cast irons and steels, has been
documented in literature.1,2 In gray cast iron, tensile
strength increased by 5-15% after 5-30 days of room-
temperature aging.1 Different mechanisms are involved
during age strengthening of iron-base alloys. Edmonds
and Honeycombe3 provided a review of aging studies in
quenched Fe-N alloys that indicated a three stage
precipitation process beginning with the formation of
interstitial-atom clusters, followed by nucleation of
α”- Fe16N2 and ending with equilibrium α’-Fe4N.
Precipitation of α”-Fe16N2 can be nucleated
homogeneously at low temperatures and high nitrogen
super-saturations or heterogeneously on dislocations at
higher temperatures and low nitrogen super-saturations.
In some cases,4 a dip in strength is observed during the
start of the aging process.
Elevated temperature aging kinetics in the cast iron was
studied1, 5 based on Johnson-Mehl-Avrami and Arrhenius
kinetics:

Vf 1  exp kt
n
 Equation 1
 Q 
k  k0 exp   Equation 2
 RT 
where: Vf is the fraction transformed, k is the reaction
rate constant, n is time exponent, R is the gas constant, T
is the absolute temperature, k0 is an attempt frequency and
Q is the activation energy.
The typical age strengthening curves which are obtained1
at different temperatures are shown in Fig. 1. An
Arrhenius plot was constructed using the rate constants
versus the reciprocal of the absolute temperature (Fig. 2).
In the 182C - 285C (360F - 545F) temperature interval,
the activation energy Q was 16.8 kJ/mole and Q increased
to 35.7 kJ/mole at below 150C (302F). The measured
value near room temperature was close to the value of
activation energy of 44 kJ/mol for precipitation growth of
nitrides in the Fe-N system.7 Different activation energies
in different temperature ranges are due to changes of the
aging mechanism. At temperatures above 200C (392)F,
the metastable α”- Fe16N2 is replaced by the ordered
γ’-Fe4N. In this regard, the neutron scattering studies8
showed evidence of interstitial atom clusters that are
spherical in shape. The low temperature kinetic results
support the conclusion that the time exponent suggests an
equiaxially-shaped precipitate.
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 2 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA
a)
b)
c)
d)
Fig. 1. These graphs show strengthening of cast iron
during aging (a) at room temperature, (b), at 182C, (c)
at 285C and(d) the Arrhenius plot of cast iron aging
1 full aging time illustrated in Fig. 3 will depend on
kinetics.
For practical application, the following relationships
between peak aging time (tpeak, h) and aging temperatures
(T,K up to 573K) and (T,F up to 600F) were suggested:1
2020
t peak  0.171exp
T,K
3636
t peak  0.171exp
460  T , F Equation 3
EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS
While the elevated temperature aging process is less
dependent on alloy composition, room temperature aging
kinetics is strongly affected by cast iron chemistry. From
a practical perspective, the effect of variations in Mn and
S on cast iron aging rate is important. Table 1 gives a
comparison of aging time for two cast irons which have
been studied.1, 6 In cast iron with 0.8-0.83%Mn, aging was
completed at 25 days while this process needed only 15
days for cast iron with 0.51%Mn at similar 0.04-0.06%
sulfur levels.
Table 1. Comparison of Iron Chemistry and Aging
Time at Room Temperature
6 1
Parameters Test Test
Manganese, wt.% 0.51 0.80-0.83
Nitrogen, wt.% 0.0094 0.007-0.008
Natural aging time, days 15 28
To study the effect of alloying elements, aging kinetics of
cast irons from six heats with variations in Mn, N and S
were evaluated.9 Strength change curves typically had a
pre-strengthening peak, a “relaxation valley” and finally
achieved a full age strengthening. Alloying with Mn
affected both the time for achievement of pre-
strengthening and full strengthening peak. Cast iron from
a heat with 0.53% Mn had the highest reaction rate. Iron
with lower Mn and especially higher Mn contents had a
longer time of aging reaction.
Thermodynamic data and first principle calculations of
the interaction energy between interstitial N-atom and
substitutional Mn atoms in Fe-BCC lattice were used to
enhance the understanding of the aging mechanism. The
data and calculations suggest the hypothesis that Mn-Mn
clusters are likely to serve as the nucleation sites for the
formation of nitrides in Fe-Mn-N system. During this
initial period, presumably α”- Fe16N2 precipitates were
formed. At the same time, increasing thermodynamic
stability of this phase in cast iron with high Mn content
can delay sequential growth of the stable γ’-Fe4N
responsible for full age strengthening. As a result, a
nonlinear effect of Mn-alloying on aging kinetics was
observed. The effect of manganese on aging kinetics also
depends on sulfur concentration because these elements
have a strong tendency to MnS formation. In this case, the
concentration of free Mn (Mnfree):
Mnfree %Mn-1.7%S Equation 4
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 3 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

260 15
Heat D

Pre-strengthening time, days

250 10
y = -20x3 + 59x2 - 47x + 16
Tensle strength, Mpa

240 5

230 0
0 0.5 1 1.5
"Free" Mn =%Mn-1.7%S

a)
0.12
220
0 10 20 30 40
0.1 8-10
Aging time, days

a) 0.08 6-7
40

S, wt.%
Pre-strengthening 4-5
0.06

Full aging (strength)

0.04 6-7
30 Full aging (resistivity) 8-10
Aging time, days

0.02

20 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Mn, wt. %
b)
10
40

y = -61x3 + 194x2 - 161x + 57

0 35
Optimal aging time, days

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4

Mn, weight % 30
b)
Fig. 2. These graphs show (a) a typical aging curve 25

and (b) the effect of Mn on aging time estimated from

20
maximum increase in tensile strength and electrical
9
resistivity (b).
15

EFFECT OF CARBIDE/NITRIDE FORMING 10

ELEMENTS 0 0.5 1 1.5
"Free" Mn =%Mn-1.7%S
Natural age strengthening of cast iron occurs in Fe-BCC c)
(ferrite) by iron nitride precipitation. Carbide forming 0.12
15-17
15-17
elements such as chromium promote decreasing the
0.1
amount of free ferrite in cast iron and reduce the total 30-40 18-21
possible strengthening effect.14 A representative 0.08
microstructure from the as cast machinability test article 22-29
S, wt.%

22-29
0.06
produced from cast iron with 0.2% Cr is given in Fig. 4. 15-17
The metal matrix had a fully pearlitic structure with some 0.04
white spots identified as the Cr-alloyed steadite eutectic
(P-(FenCr1-n)3C). This phase has a significantly higher 0.02

microhardness than ferrite or even pearlite and is 30-40

0
considered detrimental to machinability. Statistics of 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Mn, wt. %
tensile test data before and after 21 days of natural d)
aging indicated a detectable but a low strengthening. Fig. 3. These graphs shoe the effect of “free Mn” on
Machinability did not improve with aging in this case . (a, b) pre-strengthening time and(c, d) full aging time
(days).
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 4 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

nitrogen, available at solidification to form metastable

solid solution in ferrite, has on age strengthening of cast
iron. Elevated nitrogen (0.009 %N) was enhanced by
ladle FeMn5N additions while iron with regular nitrogen
had 0.006 %N. Low soluble nitrogen left after TiN
formation does not allow for the production of detectible
age strengthening of cast iron.

The thermodynamic software, FACTSAGE, was used11

for a model calculation of the condition when cast iron
natural aging will be suppressed by Ti impurity (Fig. 6).
The equilibrium volume of iron nitride significantly
a)
depends on the nitrogen content in iron as well as the
concentration of nitride-forming elements, in particular
titanium, which can form stable nitrides even during
solidification when atom species are very mobile. When
the cast iron alloy contains titanium and nitrogen
simultaneously, these elements react to form titanium
nitride during solidification resulting in lower “free”
nitrogen in the ferrite solid solution. This limits the
formation of iron nitride at room temperature and
consequently suppresses the iron aging effect. The
temperature range of super-saturation of ferrite lies from
room temperature to 300C (572F) and beyond this range
Box-and-Whisker Plot the possibility of aging is limited according to
b)
thermodynamics.
5
Elevated nitrogen
Un-aged 4 Regular nitrogen
Tensile strength change (MPa)

2
Aged
1

210 215 220 225 230 235 0

UTS, MPa -1
c) 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
Fig. 4 These illustrate the (a) microstructure of gray Ti (weight %)
iron with 0.2 %Cr, (b) Scanning Electron
a)
Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy 6.00
(SEM/EDS) analysis of steadite phase and (c) box and
y = 324.6x + 2.9708
whisker plot of Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) for R2 = 0.8737 5.00
14
un-aged/aged conditions.
4.00

Nitride forming elements such as Ti, Al and B can fully

UTS change

suppress iron nitride precipitate strengthening.10, 11 For 3.00

example, Ti has a strong influence on arresting the age 2.00

strengthening behavior by forming TiN and drastically
reducing concentration of soluble nitrogen (Ns) in 1.00

Fe-BCC. If this were a stoichiometric extent, the free

0.00
nitrogen in the ferrite would be: -0.012 -0.01 -0.008 -0.006 -0.004 -0.002 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008

-1.00
%Ns = %NTotal - 0.33%Ti Equation 5 Free N = N - 0.33 * Ti

However, since Ti forms a carbonitride (Ti(C,N)) the
actual Ti coefficient shown in Equation 5 based on the
thermodynamic calculations and experimental data is
more likely 0.2. Figure 5 illustrates the effect that
b)
Fig. 5. These graphs show (a)the change in tensile
strength during aging with Ti variations at two levels
of N and (b) the effect of calculated “free” soluble
11
nitrogen on age strengthening of gray iron.
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 5 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

(CNC) lathe (Fig. 7a). These test articles were produced

Low nitrogen (0.004%) in a laboratory foundry using no-bake molds and in
industrial foundries using green sand molds. Tool force
data was collected on a HAAS CNC lathe using a TeLC
0.07
DKM 2010 Turning Dynamometer.12-14 Figure 7b shows
0.06 a schematic of the tool force system, where: Fc is the main
cutting force, Fp is the passive force and Ff is the feed
Fe 4 N (weight %)

0.05
force.
0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01
0.00

0.0001
20

0.001
100
Te m 200 0.01
pera 300
0.02

tu re 0 % )
400 ht
0.04

( C
)
we ig
(
Ti

High nitrogen (0.009%)

0.16 a)
0.14
0.12
Fe 4 N (weight %)

0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04 b)
0.02
Fig. 7. (a) The machinability test of AFS 5J 10"
diameter test article and (b)cutting forces
0.00
measurement system are illustrated.
0.0001

20
0.001

100
Te m
0.01

per 200
% ) A series of laboratory tests produced pearlite/ferrite cast
atu 300
0.02

re ( 0 ht irons with variations in carbon equivalent from 3.9% to

C) 400 e ig
0.04

(w
Ti 4.3%. These irons were tested13 in as cast condition and
Fig. 6. These graphs show the combined influence of after 25 days of natural aging (Fig. 8). In as cast or in un-
temperature, Ti and N on the potential percentage of aged condition, the cutting forces increased with
11
iron nitride formation during natural aging. increasing hardness in irons having less carbon equivalent
which is typical and expected. At the same time, there
The experimental data10, 11 confirmed these was a reverse type of dependency in which the cutting
thermodynamic predictions. The particular percentage of force decreased when the increasing hardness was due
equilibrium iron nitride is important from a practical point only to natural aging in each iron. This unusual behavior
of view because this allows prediction of the age- could be explained by the energy requirement for chip
strengthening effect. The suppression of natural aging formation. In un-aged cast iron, soft ferrite absorbs energy
took place when the concentration of titanium exceeded for significant plastic deformation. This effect results in
0.04% in heats with typical 0.006% nitrogen levels while edge build-up on the tool tip which could also promote
in heats with elevated (0.009%) nitrogen; aging was increasing cutting force by enlarging the deformation
suppressed when titanium was higher than 0.06%. Under region (similar to tool wear). In contrast, when iron aging
these conditions, there are no possibilities for iron nitride occurs as a result of Fe4N precipitation in ferrite, it
formation according to the thermodynamic predictions. increases the iron’s strength and hardness and allows for
The thermodynamic modeling can also be used for more chip formation with a smaller amount of plastic
complex industrial irons containing other impurities deformation, which could decrease the cutting force.
which have a potential for reacting with nitrogen. Similar results were achieved also in other cast irons
having ferrite in metal matrix and different graphite
MACHINABILITY OF AGED CAST IRONS shapes. For example, aging decreased cutting forces after
aging ductile iron with spherical graphite and significant
CUTTING TOOL FORCES free ferrite.16
The machinability test articles recommended by AFS
were used for facing cuts on a Computer Numeric Control
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 6 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

500 To verify the effect of microstructure on cast iron

480
Unaged machinability, castings from the same heat were tested
Aged additionally after ferritizing/re-solutionizing heat
Average Cutting Forces (N)

Heat 3
460
treatment.13, 14 This treatment transformed pearlite to
440
ferrite and produced a re-solutionizing effect which
420 Heat 4 allowed repeating the natural aging. The effect observed
400 was opposite to the previously discussed test of cast iron
380
Heat 2 with pearlite matrix and steadite phase, in that aging of
ferritized/re-solitionized gray iron improved
360
machinability. The cutting forces were decreased at all
340
160 180 200 220 240
cutting speeds which were studied (Fig. 10). It can be
Brinell Hardness concluded from these tests that all gray iron showing
Fig.8. This graph shows the cutting forces versus
improved machinability in the aged condition contained
hardness for un-aged and aged cast irons.
13 some amount of free ferrite, while gray iron showing
increased cutting forces after aging had no free ferrite but
However, aging does not always improve cast iron was entirely pearlitic with cementite/steadite phases.
machinability.14 For example, aging of cast iron
containing carbide forming elements (Fig. 4) produced a
180
completely opposite effect on casting machinability Ferritized
(Fig. 9). There was a visible and statistically significant
160 Ferritized + aged
increase of the average normal cutting forces for the aged

Cutting force, N
samples compared to un-aged samples. The ratio of
passive to normal cutting forces is used as an indicator of 140
tool wear because as a tool loses sharpness it has an
increasing passive reaction force. It was visible that this 120
ratio increased more significantly during cutting of aged
gray iron with carbide-promoting element content. The 100
microstructure in this case was pearlitic with some 0 100 200 300
steadite and free carbide but no free ferrite (Fig. 4). Cutting speed, sfpm
a)
350 2
Ferritized
Distance between cracks, mm

340
1.5 Ferritized + aged
330
Normal Forces (N)

320
1
310

300 0.5

290 Day 0 Fn Averages

Day 30 Fn Averages 0
280
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 100 200 300
Cut # Cutting speed, sfpm
a) b)
0.500 Fig. 10. These graphs show (a) the effects of cutting
Day 0 Fp/Fn Averages speed and aging on cutting force of
Passive/Normal Force Ratio (N/N)

Day 30 Fp/Fn Averages

0.450 ferritized/resolutionized gray iron and (b) the effect of
cutting speed and aging on an average distance
14
0.400 between crack formed in chips.

0.350 This differing behavior of aged cast irons depending upon

metal matrix is related to energy of chip formation.13
0.300
Although gray cast iron is a brittle material in tension,
chips can experience significant plastic deformation
0.250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 because the stress state during machining is dominated by
Cut # compression and shear. If chip formation is assumed to be
b) a plastic strain to fracture event, then changes in fracture
Fig. 9. During sequential cuts of high chromium as toughness would logically affect machining behavior.
14
cast and aged gray iron, (a) averaged and standard Fracture work during tensile testing was estimated from
deviation of normal cutting force and (b) passive to the stress-displacement curve (Fig. 11). In the pearlitic
14
normal cutting force ratio are graphed.
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 7 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

iron the work of fracture increased after aging and cutting

150
forces increased at the same time. On the contrary, iron
which was ferritized by heat treatment showed decreased 140
work of fracture due to aging as well as decreased cutting

Roughing Amps
forces.14 130

9.9 120
Day 1
)
3

Day 3
Uniaxial Tensile Work of Fracture (J/mm

9.4 110
Day 6
100 Day 9
8.9
Day 20
90
8.4
0 100 200 300 400
Number of Castings
7.9

a)
7.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
90
Days Aged at Room Temperature

a)

Surface Finsh Value (um)

80
5.3
Uniaxial Tensile Work of Fracture (J/mm3)

70
5.2

5.1 60

50 Day 1
5
Day 3
4.9 40 Day 6
4.8 30 Day 9
Day 20
4.7
20
4.6 0 100 200 300 400

4.5 Number of Castings

0 5 10 15 20 25
b)
Days Aged at Room Temperature
b) Fig. 12. These graphs show the (a) roughing
Fig. 11. These graphs show the work of tensile amperage drawn to machine clutch disks as a
fracture for un-aged (blue markers) and aged (red function of the number of days the castings were aged
markers) gray irons: (a) with essentially no free ferrite and the number of castings machined and (b) the
8
in the matrix and (b) with significant free ferrite in the surface finish value.
14
matrix.
Other tests were performed with industrial face machining
TOOL WEAR AND INDUSTRIAL MACHINING of brake discs for a passenger car.11, 12 Excessive tool
MEASUREMENTS wear produced changing tool geometry and increased
Based on both the current work and that of previous cutting forces, which promoted elastic deformation of
researchers, tool wear is lower when machining gray cast casting with increasing tilt and destroying required
iron aged at room temperature because aged iron requires tolerance on perpendicularity (“tilt”). Tilt data from the
less work input from the machining center to form and machining of industrial castings were compared in two
break off chips. The decrease in required work has been ways. First, Fig. 13a compares the tilt during machining
demonstrated in the present study12-14 by tool force of 50 un-aged (day 1) castings with 50 aged (day 10)
measurements and in previous work by testing amperage castings. Second, Fig. 13b compares the tilt for the same
drawn while machining un-aged and aged iron.8 It was 50 un-aged castings to 200 aged (day 10) castings. The
shown that the least power was required to machine machining of the 50 un-aged castings required two tool
castings aged for 3-6 days when compared to iron aged position changes as indicated by the bold arrows. No tool
for 1, 9 and 20 days (Fig. 12). At that optimal aging time, position changes were required during machining of aged
machined castings had better surface quality (less castings after 50 or 200 castings, indicating more
roughness), but all aged iron had better surface finish than consistent dimensions and reduced downtime for tool
the un-aged iron. position corrections. Fig. 13c gives a comparison of
measured tool wear for different operations. Aging
significantly decreased tool wear in most of the
operations.
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 8 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

0.1
possible scenarios for changes in machinability of gray
Day 1 iron during natural aging (Table 2).
0.08
Day 10  First scenario: aging does not occur and therefore,
0.06
has no influence on machinability. Lack of aging
0.04 effects in the iron can be caused by elevated nitride
0.02 forming elements (particularly Ti) relative to
Tilt (mm)

0
nitrogen. Additions of nitrogen to iron are possible
and can enhance aging. Thermodynamic data can be
-0.02
applied to determine if there is enough “free
-0.04
nitrogen” for aging a cast iron. Figures 5, 6 and
-0.06 Equation 5 can be used for the prediction of aging
-0.08 effect in a particular iron. A simplified criterion
-0.1
might be, if %N< (.15-0.20)%Ti, aging will not
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 occur.
Casting number
 Second scenario: If cast iron exhibits aging, this
a) phenomenon can be used for improving casting
0.1
machinability. Aging is accompanied by decreasing
cutting forces and tool wear. These irons have
0.08 50 Unaged Castins (Day 1)
enough “free” nitrogen to promote age strengthening.
0.06 200 Aged Castings (Day 10)
Decreased cutting forces and increased mechanical
0.04 properties were proven in laboratory castings (Fig. 8)
0.02 having different carbon equivalents. These irons had
Tilt (mm)

0
some amount of free ferrite and no free cementite or
steadite. Optimal aging time depends upon particular
-0.02
“free Mn” content and could be evaluated using
-0.04
Fig. 3. Acceleration and decreasing aging time for
-0.06 improving machinability could be done by warm
-0.08 (slightly elevated) temperature “aging” (Equation 3).
-0.1
 Third scenario: Gray iron has elevated
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 concentrations of carbide forming elements such as
Casting number
Cr in addition to large %P. These combinations of
b) chemistry with a particular cooling rate could
promote steadite/cementite formation in fully
Day 1: 50 castings machined pearlitic matrix. If this iron has negligible free ferrite,
2
Day10: 50 castings machined
aging will increase cutting forces in this iron.
Day 10: 200 castings machined
Effective inoculation and chemistry control will
Tool Wear Area (mm )
2

1.5 affect casting machinability interaction with aging in

these cast irons. However, in this scenario the
foundry may find that “fresh” castings are more
1
machinable.

0.5 CONFIRMATION TEST

0 no-bake molds from one 200 lb induction furnace heat.
Op1
c)
Fig. 13. These graphs show the comparison of tilt
data from machining: a) 50 un-aged castings with 50
aged castings and b) 200 aged castings and c) tool
wear (flank area).
12,13
INDUSTRIAL RECCOMENDATION FOR
IMPROVING CAST IRON MACHINABILITY BY
AGING
Summarizing the previous and recent experimental
studies, it can be concluded that there are three different
Five AFS 5J, 10 in. diameter test articles were poured into
Op2 Op3 Op4 Op5 Op6
Nitrogen content was enhanced by ladle treatment with
Cutting Operation Designation
0.2% of Fe70Mn5N addition together with 0.3%
Fe75Si2Ba inoculants. Cast iron chemistry is shown in
Table 3. Microstructure of this iron was mostly pearlitic
with approximately 5-10% ferrite (Fig. 14). Measured
hardness in the middle section of the test article was 200-
210HB in the as cast condition (un-aged). The as cast
surface layer (1/8 in.) was removed in preliminary
machining to avoid the effects of cast surface structure,
mold-metal interaction and geometry variance on test
results. Test. articles were face CNC machined at
day 0, day 5, day 9, day 15 and day 22 with measurement
of cutting forces.11-13
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 9 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA

12-15
Table 2. Different Aging/Machinability Scenario Observed in Gray Cast Iron

Scenario Gray Iron Aging effect Phases, % area Aging effect on

confirmation Ferrite Steadite/ machinability
carbides
1 Lab (4.1% CE with Ti) No 5-15 - No effect
2 Lab (4.3% CE) Yes 25-27 - Improved
Lab (3.9% CE) Yes 5-7 - Improved
Industrial brake disks Yes ~1 - Improved
Industrial test articles Yes 40-60 1.8–2.0 Improved
(ferritized)
3 Industrial test articles with elevated Cr and P Yes < 0.2 1.8–2.0 Increased tool
forces, lower
machinability

Table 3. Chemistry (wt. %) of Test Articles

C Si Mn S Cr Cu Al Ti N
3.26 2.03 0.61 0.08 0.15 0.2 0.01 0.008 0.010

Eight cuts (30 minutes total machining time) were

performed from each disc, using a new tool insert each
time. The thickness of the test article produced eight
duplicate cuts and each test was repeated twice. The test
results are shown in Fig. 15.
250
Heat C

240

230
Tensle strength, Mpa

220

210

200

190
0 10 20 30 40 50
Aging time, days
a)

264 200

260
180
Main cutting force, N

256
Tool wear, μm

252 160

248
140
244

Fig. 14. These are photomicrographs of the 240 120

0 5 10 15 20 25
microstructure of gray iron for the machinability Aging time, days
confirmation test.
b)
Fig. 15. a) Expected age strengthening kinetics for
9
tested composition and (b) effect of aging time on
cutting force (black markers) and tool wear (red
markers) are graphed.
 Paper 12-026.pdf, Page 10 of 11
AFS Proceedings 2012 © American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL USA
Now, these test results are compared with the predictions
according to the suggested methodology.
 Step 1—evaluation of the possible age strengthening:
Nfree =N-0.20Ti = 0.01-0. 2*0.008 = 0.0084 wt.% or
84 ppm; according to Fig. 6, total %N and %Ti leads
one to expect approximately 0.14 wt. % Fe4N.
Figure 5 indicates age strengthening will occur.
 Step 2 – control microstructure: Fig. 14 shows a
matrix without free carbide/steadite having a small
amount of free ferrite around flake graphite. Age
strengthening of this type structure can improve
casting machinability according to the second
scenario (Table 2).
 Step 3 - Aging time: according to Fig. 3, full aging
time is 15-17 days and according to Fig. 2 pre-
strengthening time is 7-9 days. The tool force
dropped significantly during the first five days and
was also low at 15 days, roughly corresponding to the
expected times for room temperature age
strengthening.
The predictions based on the previous studies were
confirmed in the last machinability test. A significant
decrease in cutting force and standard variation were
observed after 9-15 days of natural aging which is
between predicted pre-strengthening and full aging time.
Regarding other machinability parameters, tool wear not
only depends the average value of cutting force but also
the stability of cutting process and tool wear continued to
decrease up to the full aging time.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper summarizes the past study of the effect of cast
iron natural aging on casting machinability. Based on
thermodynamic and first principle atomistic calculations,
a variety of experimental techniques and industrial
studies, the mechanism was discussed and aging process
kinetics was quantified. More important, the aging
process was linked to alloy chemistry and simple rules
were suggested to predict aging and forecast peak age
strengthening.
In the second part of this paper, the different scenarios of
improving casting machinability by aging were
considered. Cutting forces measured in the laboratory,
tool wear observed during industrial machining and
machining surface quality were all linked to aging
phenomena. Finally, a conformation test was performed
for verification of the suggested optimal aging time for a
specific composition to improve gray iron machinability.
A set of rules was suggested for optimization of the
process window. Briefly, this set of rules for assessment
of an optimal machinability window of aged cast iron
includes:
 Estimate free nitrogen based on total nitrogen and
concentration of titanium as % N >0.2 %Ti, but not
high enough to form gas porosity in order to have age
strengthening.
 Check microstructure concerning ferrite/pearlite
content without steadite/carbides. If no free ferrite is
present, particularly with all pearlite and some
carbide or steadite, the foundry may experience better
machinability with fresh castings given a
composition which will age strengthen. If free ferrite
is present, age strengthening will provide a
corresponding improvement in machinability.
 Finally, estimate room temperature aging time based
on free manganese left after sulfide formation.
Acceleration of aging with a low temperature bake is
possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This paper is based on work supported by the U.S.
Department of Energy under award number DE-FC36-
04GO/4230 as subcontracted through the Advanced
Technology Institute. Any findings, opinions,
conclusions, or recommendations in this report are those
of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Department of Energy.
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