Assessment of Compacted Graphite Iron Viability for Cost-Effective Product Designing

Compacted graphite iron (CGI), an untapped yet promising material, belongs to the cast iron family alongside grey cast iron (GCI) and ductile cast iron (DI). Its microstructure comprises individual worm-shaped compacted or vermicular graphite particles that are shorter, thicker, and stubby with rounded edges. These particles are densely interconnected and demonstrates intermediate mechanical and physical properties as compared to GCI and DI. This material has gained prominence over last decade especially for the applications where a combination of static and thermal loads act, with the aim of cost-effective product development by altering use of other cast irons and non-ferrous materials. Despite its potential, CGI has certain limitations, including poor machinability and the need for specialized foundries for mass-scale quality production. The author has successfully produced proprietary CGI by exploring conventional foundry practices through separate research study. This research study is aimed to assess the commercial viability of proprietary CGI material and outline potential design optimization opportunities for cost-effective centrifugal pump volute designing, as an alternative to equivalent grades of GCI and DI materials.