Surface reactivity of thin wall ferritic ductile iron. The effect of nodule count and grinding variables

Thin wall ductile iron (TWDI) castings constitute an attractive alternative to several applications in which the strength to weight ratio becomes a key design variable. In TWDI, the nodule count for a given chemical composition is highly dependent on cooling rate during solidification, and hence on thickness.For mechanical parts, where accurate dimensional tolerance is mandatory, the most common machining process applied is grinding. This process induces significant temperature gradients and surface plastic deformations which could affect service performance, particularly in corrosion environments.In TWDI, surface properties become more relevant due to the high surface area to volume ratio. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the effect of nodular count and grinding conditions on surface reactivity of ferritic TWDI. Electrochemical assays were carried out in a three-electrode cell in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution on both polished and ground samples. The results obtained indicate that surface reactivity increases with higher nodular counts and residual plastic strain.