Filler materials used to weld ductile cast iron – A review

Abstract

Austempered ductile iron (ADI) is a new engineering material type which continue receiving increased attention in research and industry. Extensive research conducted so far has demonstrated that ADI has excellent property combination such as high strength-weight ratio, ductility and toughness, good fatigue strength, damping properties and wear resistance. As a result of to their exceptional mechanical property mix, fabrication simplicity, low cost and lowest weight per unit strength ratio compared to common steels, this family of ferrous cast alloys have begun replacing cast and forged steels in some engineering applications. However, a major limiting factor to widespread use of ADI in manufacturing industry remains its weldability, more especially during fabrication process. Current work presents a review of various filler materials (electrodes) used to weld ductile cast iron using two common industrial welding processes, namely, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). The successes as well as short-comings of these electrodes on weldability of ductile iron have been recorded and a clear need for an improved filler material is identified.