Cast iron applications

Other austenitic cast iron applications can be found in food and dairy production, where the metallic contamination of the product must be eliminated. 

Alloy cast irons. Alloy additions are made to cast irons to improve the properties for particular purposes. Alloy cast irons can be used in engineering applications where plain cast iron is unsuitable and may even replace steel for some components such as crankshafts. 

Rare-earth compounds containing lanthanum are extensively used in carbon lighting applications, especially by the motion picture industry for studio lighting and projection. This application consumes about 25 percent of the rare-earth compounds produced. La203 improves the alkali resistance of glass, and is used in making special optical glasses. Small amounts of lanthanum, as an additive, can be used to produce nodular cast iron. 

Carbon is the cheapest and most effective alloying element for hardening iron. We have already seen in Chapter 1 (Table 1.1) that carbon is added to iron in quantities ranging from 0.04 to 4 wt% to make low, medium and high carbon steels, and cast iron. The mechanical properties are strongly dependent on both the carbon content and on the type of heat treatment. Steels and cast iron can therefore be used in a very wide range of applications (see Table 1.1). 

Straight-lobe compressor casings, also called housings or cylinders by different manufacturers, are furnished in cast iron by all vendors. There is an optional aluminum construction available for special applications. Inlet and outlet are suitable for a 125 pound standard ANSI flanged connection. 

Standard materials for the compressor are cast iron for the cylinder and carbon steel for the shaft. The rotor parts are steel. The liquid pistf f compressor has another feature that compensates for low efficiency, using special materials of construction and compatible liquid compr sant, unusual or difficult gases may be compressed. By using titanium internal materials and water as a compressant, gases containing wet chlorine can be compressed. This is a very difficult application for most o( the other compressor types. 

Never use cast iron fittings or pipe in process situations unless there is only grav ity pressure head (or not over 10 psig) or the fluid is nonhazardous. One exception is in some concentrated sulfuric acid applications however, extreme caution must be used in the design of the safety of the system area. Never use in pulsing or shock service. 

This is of more significance in corrosive or polymer-forming services than in clean hydrocarbon or air applications. For example in hydrogen chloride and chlorine service using cylinders with either (a) cast iron liners or (b) carbon piston rings, a speed of around 600 ft per min is acceptable. 

Cast iron is the standard material used to construct the cylindrical housing, but other materials may be used if corrosive conditions exist. The rotor is usually a continuous piece of steel that includes the shaft and is made from bar stock. Special materials can be selected for corrosive applications. Occasionally, the rotor may be a separate iron casting keyed to a shaft. On most standard air compressors, the rotor-shaft seals are semi-metallic packing in... 

For all materials other than basic constructional steels and cast irons, reputable suppliers have information bases and applications laboratories from which information can be obtained. Trade organizations representing categories of materials suppliers are excellent sources of information some are listed at the end of this chapter. The materials suppliers should be consulted in conjunction with equipment suppliers in order to ensure that the information generated is fully applicable to the end use to which the material is to be put. Fabrication techniques should be agreed between the two types of suppliers, since some materials cannot be cast or welded and forging cannot make some items. 

Stainless steels are used in a wide variety of applications and are most often selected because steel or cast iron would corrode at an unacceptably high rate or produce high levels of iron contamination in the proposed service environment. The main limitations on their uses are ... 

The scope of the term stainless steel has not been precisely defined, but for general purposes it may be considered to include alloys whose main constituent is iron but which also contain not less than 10% Cr. As with low-alloy steels, a distinction between low or medium carbon grades and high carbon grades must also be drawn, the latter being more in the nature of alloy cast irons. These are used mainly for oxidation resistance at high temperatures and for applications where abrasion resistance allied to a certain amount of corrosion resistance is required, and will not be considered in this section. 

It is interesting that the first large-scale application of cathodic protection by Davy was directed at protecting copper rather than steel. It is also a measure of Davy s grasp of the topic that he was able to consider the use of two techniques of cathodic protection, viz. sacrificial anodes and impressed current, and two types of sacrificial anode, viz. zinc and cast iron. 

Frit may be milled dry or wet. The long established dry process is used for cast iron baths and for chemical plant. Vitreous enamel application by a dry electrostatic method is being used on an increasing scale. In these cases, the frit is milled alone, or with inorganic colouring or refractory additives. This is achieved in cylinders using balls of porcelain, steatite or more dense alumina, or with pebbles of flint, to produce a fine powder of predetermined size. 

Cast iron (Cl) boilers are manufactured in sections and assembled at the job site, which makes them suitable for applications where access is limited. Like SM and FB boilers, Cl boilers are also widely used in hydronic heating systems. 

ASTM A 297/A 297M-97(2003) Standard Specification for Steel Castings, Iron-Chromium and Iron-Chromium-Nickel, Heat Resistant, for General Application (contains most of the H grade, e.g., HP, castings)... 

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