The resistance of cast iron to abrasive wear depends on the metal abrasive hardness ratio. For example, hardness of the structural constituents of the cast iron metal matrix is lower than the hardness of ordinary silica sand. Also cementite, the basic component of unalloyed white cast iron, has hardness lower than the hardness of silica. Some resistance to the abrasive effect of the aforementioned silica sand can provide the chromium white cast iron containing in its structure a large amount of (Cr, Fe)7C3 carbides characterised by hardness higher than the hardness of the silica sand in question. In the present study, it has been anticipated that the white cast iron structure will be changed by changing the type of metal matrix and the type of carbides present in this matrix, which will greatly expand the application area of castings under the harsh operating conditions of abrasive wear. Moreover, the study compares the results of abrasive wear resistance tests performed on the examined types of cast iron. Tests of abrasive wear resistance were carried out on a Miller machine. Samples of standard dimensions were exposed to abrasion in a double to-and-fro movement, sliding against the bottom of a trough filled with an aqueous abrasive mixture containing SiC + distilled water. The obtained results of changes in the sample weight were approximated with a power curve and shown further in the study.

Medium-alloy ductile iron with a SiMo ferritic matrix has very good heat resistance. The addition of chromium and aluminum also increases this resistance. This article presents the impact of chromium and aluminum on the structure of SiMo cast iron, especially their impact on the deformation of the spherical graphite precipitates and the formation of M₆C and M₃C₂ carbide phases. These carbides are formed in a ferritic matrix or at the grain boundaries, resulting in increased hardness and a drastic reduction in impact strength. The article presents the influence of heat treatment on the material’s microstructure and resistance to abrasive wear. Chromium and aluminum additions can also indirectly reduce the abrasive wear resistance of SiMo cast iron. The presented research shows the possibility of doubling the abrasive wear resistance of SiMo cast iron.

Faced with the raw material crisis in Zn resources, researchers are facing the challenge of developing technology for producing zinc coatings that are thinner than those that have been produced to date. This would make it possible to reduce Zn consumption in the hot-dip galvanisation process. The study included an experiment that involved dip galvanising steel samples in baths of different Ti concentrations; this process was carried out at 450 °C and 550 °C. The use of this additive made it possible to reduce the growth of the alloy layer in the obtained zinc coatings. Using an optical microscope, observations were made of the microstructures of the resulting coatings, which made it possible to determine the thickness of the alloy layer in the coating. Thanks to the use of scanning electron microscopy with EDS analysis, however, it was possible to plot the chemical composition of the studied coatings and accurately observe the morphology of the formed phases. An intermetallic Zn-Fe-Ti phase was observed in the coatings formed in a Ti-added bath, which can affect the growth inhibition of the alloy layer in the zinc coating.

This paper presents a comprehensive approach to optimising the structure and properties of chromium cast iron that is intended for use in the production of castings that operate under abrasive-wear conditions. In the study, chromium cast iron was inoculated to reduce the grain size in the solidification structure. The finer-grained structure of the casting has a positive effect on its mechanical properties. A number of inoculants have been used that allow the elimination of many types of casting defects: hot cracks and porosities that often occur during the production of chromium cast iron castings. Another advantage of the developed inoculation procedure is the resulting increase in the toughness of chromium cast iron. It should be emphasised that this cast iron does not have a high impact strength in its as-cast condition due to the formation of chromium carbides in the structure. This work also proposes a specially designed heat treatment for inoculated cast iron. The parameters of the applied heat treatment were determined on the basis of dilatometric tests. The visible deviation on a dilatogram at a temperature of about 600 °C is the result of a partial martensitic transformation in the area of grain boundaries. Therefore, the increase in abrasion resistance chromium cast iron is mainly due to the appearance of martensite. The microstructure of the investigated cast iron is particularly desirable in the case of alloys that work with lubrication. The microcavities that are formed by the abrasion of the softer phase constitute natural grease, which reduces abrasive wear. Under the influence of heat treatment, only a part of austenite located near the carbides is destabilized and transformed into martensite. Therefore, this phase of composition formation provided much greater resistance to abrasive wear and hardness.

Inoculation of cast iron has become a commonly used metallurgical process, which is carried out in a foundry in order to improve the mechanical properties of utility alloys. It consists in changing the physicochemical state of the melted alloy. This change is caused by the introduction of cast iron with a low ability to nucleate graphite, shortly before pouring a small mass of the substance—an inoculant that increases the number of active nuclei. It is also justified that the literature often connects an increase in the tensile strength UTS of the inoculated grey cast iron, with changes in the characteristics of the particles of graphite. However, in strongly hypoeutectic cast iron, in which a large number of primary austenite grains crystallize, the interdendritic distribution of graphite is usually the result. It also follows that the nature of the graphite precipitates is determined by the mutual relations between the interfacial distances in eutectic grains and the interdendritic distances in the grains of primary austenite occurring in the Fe–C alloys. The article presents the influence of the inoculant on the characteristics of the precipitation of primary austenite grains in relation to the sulphur content in grey cast iron with flake graphite. The study also showed that primary grains in grey cast iron have a great influence on mechanical properties, such as the tensile strength UTS. In this case, the key is to know the value of the degree of undercooling ΔT. The type of inoculant used affects the ΔT value. The study related the number of N primary austenite grains with the degree of undercooling ΔT and the tensile strength UTS with the number of primary austenite N grains.

The treatment of inoculation of white cast iron with carbide precipitations that consist of increasing the number of primary austenite grains is not as well-known as the treatment of inoculation of gray cast iron in which the number of eutectic grains increases. In the studies included in the publication, experiments were carried out using the addition of ferrotitanium as an inoculant for chromium cast iron. The Cellular Automaton Finite Elements (CAFE) module of ProCAST software was used in order to analyze the formation of the primary structure of hypoeutectic chromium cast iron in a casting of various thicknesses. The modeling results were verified using Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) imaging. The obtained results confirmed obtaining a variable number of primary austenite grains in the cross-section of the tested casting, which significantly affects the strength properties of the obtained chrome cast iron casting.