Ferrous Metals - Properties and Application

Chapter
p 1
Ferrous Metals –
Types properties & applications
Types,
FERROUS METAL
A metal containing iron as a primary material (with

a composition of more 90%);
- Iron
- Cast Iron
- Steel
- Stainless Steel
- Wrought Iron
IRON
Iron is a metal extracted mainly from the iron ore

hematite. It oxidizes in air and water to form Fe2O3
and is rarely found as a free element.
Iron is believed to be the fourth most abundant

element and second most abundant metal in the
earth.
The iron
Th i ores contain
t i 25% to
t 70% metallic
t lli iron.
i
Sulfur, phosphorous, silica and clay are the
principal impurities.
impurities
PIG IRON (Raw Iron)
9 Pig iron is the raw form of Iron obtained by
smelting in a blast furnace.
9 Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically
3.5 - 4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not
useful directly as a material except for limited
applications .
9 Higher grade iron (Cast-iron, Steel) are
manufactured from pig iron.
9 Materials used to produce pig iron from iron ore
are coke, limestone and iron ore.
PIG IRON (Raw Iron)
Process Chemistry
¾ Coke → provides the heat & supplies carbon (C) to
extract iron
C + O2 → CO2
CO2 + C → 2CO
3CO + Fe2O3 → 2Fe + 3CO2
¾ Limestone is used to reduce the impurities.
¾ Ordinary pig iron as produced by blast furnaces

contains iron, about 92 percent;
percent; carbon, 3 or 4.5
percent;; silicon, 0.5 to 3 percent
percent percent;; manganese, 0.25
to 2.5 percent
percent;; phosphorus, 0.04 to 2 percent
percent;; and a
trace of sulfur
sulfur..
SMELTING TECHNIQUE
PIG IRON (Raw Iron) – Properties & Uses
Less Strength
High
g Brittleness
Weak to corrosion & resistant
Dull in color
APPLICATION:
- No direct application
- Used for preparing Wrought Iron & Cast Iron
- Commerciallyy used for making
g steel
- Puddling furnaces
WROUGHT IRON
a product of pig iron that has had most of the
carbon removed, is a two-component metal
consisting of high purity iron and iron silicate.
Wrought iron is made from pig iron with some

slag (mixture of metal oxide & silicon dioxide)
mixed in during manufacture. Wrought iron is the
only ferrous metal that contains siliceous slag.
The slag is responsible for the desirable

properties
ti off wrought
ht iron,
i particularly
ti l l it
its
resistance to corrosion and fatigue.
WROUGHT IRON - PROPERTIES
Good Toughness
Malleable
Fatigue & Corrosion resistant
Easily forged & welded
Appearance - Slag inclusions gives a "grain"
appearance resembling wood,wood which is visible
when it is etched or bent to the point of failure
WROUGHT IRON - APPLICATIONS
Literally means “worked iron”
APPLICATION:
- Piping & Fittings for
Plumbing Heating &
Plumbing, Air
Air-
conditioning
- Ornamental
O t l Ironwork
I k
- Rivets & porch furniture
CAST IRON
A hard, brittle, nonmalleable iron-based alloy

containing
g 2% - 4.5% carbon and 0.5% - 3%
silicon
CAST IRON
¾ When pig iron is further processed by remelting to
eliminate some of the carbon, cast iron (having a
carbon
b content
t t off about
b t 2 to
t 4.5%) iis produced
produced.
d d.
¾ Th remelting
The lti process iis usually
ll performed
f d iin a
cupola (a smaller version of blast furnace)
furnace)..
¾ During the remelting operation in the cupola, no

particular chemical change in the iron is
expected.
pected. Some of the impurities may be
eliminated and a more uniform product is
obtained..
obtained
CAST IRON
¾ After the treatment in the cupola the molten iron is

cast into forms of desired shape
shape.. Depending g on
the rate of cooling the final product is called as
as::
1. Gray Cast Iron
2. White Cast Iron
GRAY CAST IRON
When cast iron is allowed to cool slowly, most of the
free carbon solidifies in large crystals known as
graphite..
graphite
A small part of the carbon combines with iron to form
cementite (Fe3C)C)..
– Iron and Carbon unit to form Iron Carbide (Fe3C)
“Cementite” with the ratio of 1 Carbon : 14 Iron.
– Cementite is very hard and brittle substance.
Hence more cementite the iron contains, the more
it gets harder.
harder
Dark spots in this
microscopic view of
Cast Iron are
cementite
GRAY CAST IRON
Gray cast iron comparatively contains less cementite
as much of the free carbon is obtained as graphite
graphite..
The presence of graphitic flakes in the grey cast iron

deflects a passing crack and initiate countless new
cracks as the material breaks
WHITE CAST IRON
When cast iron is not allowed to cool slowly, the
amount of cementite increases and the amount of
graphite decreases
decreases..
Most carbon is reacted with Fe to get cementite

(Fe3C)
C)..
Therefore, white cast iron is strong and hard but

brittle..
brittle
Moreover, since it is rapidly cooled it has high

initial
i iti l thermal
th l stresses
stresses.
t .
MALLEABLE CAST IRON
¾ Malleable Cast Iron

Iron:: is obtained by annealing the
white cast iron
iron..
¾ Annealingg is the p
process of heating g and cooling g
to induce softening, which will eliminate the initial
stresses and thereby the brittleness
brittleness..
¾ Moreover, this type of cast iron is also shaped by

a hammer or by the pressure of rollers.
rollers.
¾ It has some ductility

ductility..
CAST IRON - PROPERTIES
¾ High Tensile & Fatigue strength

¾ Low melting point
¾ Resistance against corrosion
¾ They are easy to form shapes,
shapes by casting into
molds
¾ They are cheaper than forming steel shapes
shapes.
¾ They are easy to form shapes, by casting into
molds
¾ They are cheaper than forming steel shapes.
¾ All cast irons,
irons in general
general, are a bit brittle materials
CAST IRON - APPLICATIONS
APPLICATION
APPLICATION:
- Piping & Fittings
- Ornamental Ironwork
- Kitchenware
Kit h
- Base Metal for Porcelain Enameled Plumbing Fixtures
- Floor & Wall Brackets for Railings
- Circular Stairs
- Manhole Cover
- Gratings
GALVANIZED IRON (G.I.)
Iron coated with zinc to prevent rust. The process is
achieved through hot - dip galvanizing (passing the
metal through a molten bath of zinc at a
temperature of around 460 °C)
APPLICATION:
- Metal Decking
- Roofing & Accessories
- Ceiling Framing
- Wall Framing
- Piping

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Chapter

A metal containing iron as a primary material (with

Iron is a metal extracted mainly from the iron ore

Iron is believed to be the fourth most abundant

¾ Limestone is used to reduce the impurities.

¾ Ordinary pig iron as produced by blast furnaces

 Wrought iron is made from pig iron with some

 The slag is responsible for the desirable

Literally means “worked iron”

A hard, brittle, nonmalleable iron-based alloy

¾ During the remelting operation in the cupola, no

¾ After the treatment in the cupola the molten iron is

 The presence of graphitic flakes in the grey cast iron

 Most carbon is reacted with Fe to get cementite

 Therefore, white cast iron is strong and hard but

 Moreover, since it is rapidly cooled it has high

¾ Malleable Cast Iron

¾ Moreover, this type of cast iron is also shaped by

¾ It has some ductility

¾ High Tensile & Fatigue strength

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Wrought iron is made from pig iron with some

The slag is responsible for the desirable

The presence of graphitic flakes in the grey cast iron

Most carbon is reacted with Fe to get cementite

Therefore, white cast iron is strong and hard but

Moreover, since it is rapidly cooled it has high