Influence of treatments using different magnesium ferroalloys on the melt quality and the solidification processes of ductile irons

In this work the metallurgical consequences of treatments applied on ductile irons using ferroalloys with different magnesium contents are analysed. The solidification processes have an important influence on the mechanical properties and the functionality of the iron castings along their service period. Consequently, the comparison of the characteristics of the cooling curves recorded from the melt and the active oxygen and sulphur contents have been used for quantifying the effects of treatments performed utilizing different types of commercial FeSiMg. The addition of magnesium into the melt strongly removes Sulphur and oxygen contents and important degradations of the metallurgical quality are finally obtained as a consequence of them. On the other hand, the composition of the resulting slags and the evolution of the melt characteristics as a function of the remaining time into the pouring device is investigated. The magnesium content in ferroalloys becomes a critical parameter in the evolution of the melt quality of treated irons.