27 - Rare Earths in Ductile Iron Production - A Critical Review

Abstract:

The extensive research carried out by the Chinese in recent years, in order to make use of their abundant resources of rare earths, has shown that rare earths are not as effective as magnesium in achieving good nodularity in ductile iron. However, the rare earths do have a distinct advantage over magnesium in increasing the nodule count. The Chinese work has demonstrated that, by combining rare earths with magnesium, the solidification behavior of ductile iron can be altered to improve metallurgical quality with respect to increased nodule count and good nodularity, and more importantly, to achieve higher casting yields.