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This paper studies the possibility of producing ductile iron castings intended for extreme conditions on an industrial scale. The preparation of charge and its melting conditions, modification, primary inoculation and main inoculation were studied within extensive series of experimental melts. In the scope of charge evaluation, especially the ratio of sorel type raw iron to steel charge was studied in order to reduce the raw iron portion while maintaining the castings qualitative requirements. The modifiers FeSiMg621 and FeSiMg731 were evaluated during modification. During primary inoculation the inoculants Inocast100 and SB10 were compared. The inoculation blocks Germalloy were used during main inoculation. The implementation of experimental melts was followed by chemical composition analysis, metallographic evaluation and a study of microstructure and mechanical testing performance of samples. The chemical composition was determined based on optical emission spectrometry and combustion analysis. The metallographic analysis and the microstructure evaluation were made using an optical microscope and image analysis. Testing of mechanical properties was focused on the tensile test, impact test and hardness test. It was proved that the foundry was able to produce the required quality ductile iron made of different combinations of charge materials, modifiers and inoculants. All contemplated combinations of the production technology meet the standard-defined requirements for this type of material.
Keywords: Ductile iron, inoculation, modification, performance experiment, metallography© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.