Recent Developments in Understanding Nucleation and Crystallization of Spheroidal Graphite in Iron-Carbon-Silicon Alloys

The last decade has witnessed significant research efforts directed to the understanding of nucleation and crystallization of graphite and associated solidification phenomena, driven in part by the ever-growing interest in the use of spheroidal graphite cast iron in the manufacture of large castings, such as wind turbine parts. These applications raised new challenges to the production of sound castings, mostly because of the exceedingly long solidification times imposed by the size of the castings. These solidification conditions resulted in many instances in graphite degeneration with subsequent decrease in mechanical properties. Obviously, the subject of graphite nucleation and crystallization in cast iron is still in need of additional answers. Over the years, many reviews of the subject have been published. The goal of this paper is to provide an update on the advances achieved in comprehending the mechanisms that govern the nucleation and crystallization of spheroidal graphite and related imperfect morphologies from iron-carbon-silicon melts. In this analysis, we examine not only the crystallization of graphite in cast iron, but also that of metamorphic graphite (natural graphite formed through transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural actions), and of other materials with similar lattice structure and crystallization morphologies.