Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) - A Green Alternative for India

John R. Keough, PEng, FASM

Applied Process Inc. Technologies Div. - Livonia, Michigan, USA

ABSTRACT can be recycled at a lower energy than if virgin materials

were used.
In discussions of sustainable or green design, the topic
of weight reduction is often the first consideration. The life-cycle effect of an assembly or device on ambient
Immediately, engineers of structural components turn to is the sum of its effects on the environment around it. As
materials with low density such as aluminum and with energy, the total life cycle affect can be mitigated to
magnesium. However, when strength and stiffness are the extent that waste can be reduced during the
taken into consideration, a low density material does not manufacture of the components or if the components
always result in a lower mass component or assembly. can be recycled.
Further, in the search to propel devices using less fuel
energy, engineers can often lose sight of the total life- The architectural community employs the term
cycle energy of the material/process combination they embodied energy to define the total energy resident in a
have chosen in their design. manufactured component. That concept can be useful in
inventorying and quantifying the energy content in an
High strength steels have made great advances, allowing assembly or device. For example, the embodied energy
their designs to compete with lightweight metals. The in the manufacture of the components and assembly of a
steel manufacturers have done a good job light vehicle can constitute about 20% of the life-cycle
communicating new steel to the design community. energy of that vehicle. (The balance of the life-cycle
energy of a light vehicle is its operation and the fuels,
The ductile iron industry is rapidly developing in India fluids and replacement parts it consumes during its
1,2,3
with double digit annual increases in production. High life ). The aforementioned life-cycle energy cost does
quality ductile iron combined with proper Austempering not include the cost of recycling all the components at
elevates it to the status of a lightweight material. the end of the vehicles life.
However, the design community is largely unfamiliar with
the light weight and low energy properties of Much talk in the engineering community has centered on
Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI). mass reduction as the only path to sustainability.
Sustainability is much more dependent on waste
The lure of low specific gravity can lock design engineers reduction. Engineers and designers are often surprised
into an improper material/process combination early in when life-cycle energy comparisons are made that show
the design process to the exclusion of other, more ferrous metals to be more sustainable than many
efficient material/process combinations. This paper will polymers or other light materials. Today, for example,
familiarize the reader with the concept of embodied ferrous materials (steel and iron) make up approximately
energy and some of the environmental advantages of 62% of the total mass of a light vehicle1,2 and 64% of the
3
converting from a conventional material/process mass of a Class 8 truck tractor and trailer largely
combination to an ADI casting solution. because of their low cost and recyclability.

INTRODUCTION This paper will discuss the sustainability of Austempered

Ductile Iron (ADI) castings and demonstrate through
The sustainability or green-ness of a product or device case studies how engineers can design and produce ADI
can be measured by its use of energy and its effect on components with less waste, and at lower life-cycle
the ambient (radiation, emissions, etc.) during its life. energy, than comparable designs in steel, aluminum or
The net energy and ambient affect is mitigated by the magnesium.
recyclability of all of the components of an engineering
device. BACKGROUND

The life-cycle energy of a component or assembly is Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) is a ferrous cast material
based on the total energy used to create the materials, to (ductile iron) heat treated by the Austempering process
assemble them into a useful design, and to operate resulting in a new material that is strong and tough with a
them. The life-cycle energy is reduced if the materials high strength-to-weight ratio. Ductile iron can be
produced from many casting methods including; green Neither does this paper offer the opportunity to address
sand, bonded sand, lost foam, lost wax, continuous other vital engineering properties like fatigue strength,
casting, centrifugal casting and even permanent mold. wear resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. The case for
The development of Ductile Iron (or Spheroidal Graphite sustainability in this discussion is built around strength,
Iron) was announced jointly in 1948 by the International stiffness, mass and the energy used to create and
Nickel Company (US) and the British Cast Iron Research operate the component.
Association. ADI has only been commercially available
since 1972. Thus, in the entire spectrum of engineering Although ductile iron has been around for over 60 years,
materials, both ductile iron and ADI are relatively young. its development in India has been slow, accelerating in
only the last two decades. Few reliable sources for
Consider the capping of the Washington Monument in Austempering have been available in India, so ADI
the US with a 2.8kg aluminum casting on 06 December production is still very low. Worldwide developments in
1884. It was the largest aluminum casting of its day. It the Ductile Iron casting process and the ADI process in
has taken over 100 years for aluminum to reach its recent decades have made ADI a sustainable alternative
current maturity as an engineering material, today material. This is demonstrated by the successful
comprising approximately 9% of the mass of a light material/process conversion case studies detailed in this
vehicle.1,2 paper, each representing opportunities for the Indian
foundry industry and, in particular, for Indian ductile iron
Magnesiums commercial beginnings as an engineering producers.
metal alloy go back to German use of the alloy they
called Elecktron in aircraft in World War I. Today, ADI AND SUSTAINABILITY
magnesium makes up a tiny (but growing) fraction of an
average light vehicles mass. Consideration of sustainability requires us to consider
the energy content and the ambient affect of
Steel remains the most widely used metallic engineering material/process combinations in components and
material and has been in commercial use for hundreds of assemblies. ADI is a material/process combination with
years. In recent decades, specially alloyed and much to offer in sustainable engineering designs. Metal
formulated steels have increased the strength of the casting is the lowest energy path from earthen raw
material. With its superior stiffness, steel remains materials to finished product. The metal casting process
competitive in specific-strength with materials commonly produces less waste, has fewer process steps and
referred to as light metals (principally aluminum and consumes less energy than hot or cold forming,
magnesium alloys) and other, not so common, materials extruding or welding. Metal casting is a near-net shape
such as titanium and even many polymers. process.

Together, aluminum, iron, magnesium and titanium ADI starts as a ductile iron casting. ADI is created by
make up 16% of the earths crust. Scarcity is not a long- applying the Austempering process to ductile iron
term issue, particularly because all of these metallic (spheroidal graphite or SG iron) castings. Unlike
materials can be, to a greater or lesser extent, recycled. magnesium and aluminum alloys, ductile iron of any
grade can be cast with nearly 100% recycled materials;
The scope of this paper does not allow the author to steel scrap (ie. punchings, trimmings and bundled
compare all materials with respect to sustainability. turnings) and ductile iron returns (gates and risers
Some advances, like the emergence of Compacted discarded from the casting process). The ductile iron
Graphite Iron (CGI) to replace gray iron, merit discussion process is very sustainable which is represented in its
in another venue. Discussion of titanium alloys and low embodied energy value.
carbon fiber composites also merit investigation, but their
price precludes them from practical consideration in By comparison, high-performance aluminum
most engineering designs. (For example, per unit of components are produced largely with virgin materials as
mass, titanium alloys cost roughly twenty times that of the additive affects of oxygen and hydrogen exposure
carbon steel). Plastics, although low in density and reduce the properties of recycled aluminum. Those
inexepensive per unit volume, exhibit stiffness (Youngs marvelous thin-walled, seamless aluminum beer and
Modulus 2-4 GPa) that is up to two orders of magnitude soda cans are only produced with virgin materials. The
less than that of steel (210 GPa) making them unsuitable recycled cans cannot be used to make new cans and are
for most dynamically loaded components. Polymers also used to make other, less demanding products.
use as much as 2-5 times more energy per kilogram to
produce than ferrous materials. Any comparison of material/process combinations must
begin with the engineering properties of the materials
under consideration. Figure 1 compares the strength
and ductility of ADI to that of other, selected engineering
materials.
Table 1: Specific gravity of several engineering
materials.
Specific Gravity
3
Material (gm/cm )
Carbon Steel 7.8
Ductile Iron / ADI 7.2
Titanium Alloys 4.5
Aluminum Alloys 3.0
Carbon Fiber Composite 2.3
Magnesium Alloys 1.7
Polymers .95-2.0

From the information in Figure 1 and Table 1, one can

see that aluminum and magnesium have relatively high
strength-to-weight ratios compared to steel. So why
Figure 1: A comparison of the yield (proof) strength
cant one make everything from those materials?
of ADI to that of several engineering materials.
The Youngs Modulus (E or stiffness) quantifies the
As one can see from Figure 1, ADI is competitive with deflection that will result from a given input load. Figure
steel in strength for a given level of ductility. What that 2 compares the stiffness of several engineering
figure does not show is the relative density of the materials.
materials in the comparison. Ductile iron and ADI are 8-
10% lower in specific gravity than wrought steel. (This is
due to the presence of graphite in the cast iron matrix).
Therefore, if the component stiffness is sufficient and a
steel part can be replaced with an ADI component of the
exact same configuration, the part will weigh 8-10% less.
ADI is typically lower in cost (per unit of mass) than steel.
One implementing a same-configuration steel-to-ADI
conversion will not only buy less material (mass), they
will pay less for the material (per unit of mass).

The difficulty for the designer in the choice of ADI is the

lack of available engineering information. While one may
find the typical strength, stiffness, density, etc. of ductile
iron in common textbooks such as the Machinerys
4
Handbook, no reference is even made to ADI. For
Figure 2: Youngs Modulus (stiffness) of various
such information, a few informative specifications are
materials.
ASTM A897/A 897M-06 Standard Specification for
Austempered Ductile Iron Castings,5 ISO 17804:2005
The density of ADI is 2.4 times that of aluminum alloys
Founding Ausferritic Spheroidal Graphite Cast Irons
6 (7.2 vs. 3.0), but so is the stiffness (168 GPa vs. 70
Classification, and SAE J2477:2004 Automotive
7 GPa). One can see from Figure 1 that the the allowable
Austempered Ductile (Nodular) Iron Castings (ADI), .
yield stress for ADI is about 3-5 times that of cast
Other resources such as AGMA 939-A07 Austempered
8 aluminum and 2-3 times that of forged aluminum.
Ductile Iron for Gears , Ductile Iron Data for Design
9 Therefore, a properly designed ADI component can
Engineers and the AFS Strain-Life Fatigue Properties
10 replace an aluminum component at equal (or lower)
Database for Cast Iron include informative charts,
mass, provided that a (commercially available) minimum
tables, appendices and FEA coefficients and exponents
wall thickness of about 3mm is acceptable.
to assist the designer.

Table 1 Compares the density (specific gravity) of Table 2 shows the relative (average) energy required to
produce various materials from their raw materials. The
several engineering materials. One can see why
numbers utilize the typical processes from ore
aluminum and magnesium are commonly termed light
extraction to heat treatment. Where not specified, the
metals.
numbers assume average levels of commercial recycling
within a process. The architectural community employs the energy content vs. cost for various engineering
14
a useful term embodied energy to describe this material material/process combinations (Figure 3) .
feature.

Table 2: Embodied energy in selected engineering

materials expressed in Megajoules per kilogram
(MJ/kg).1,2,3,11,12,13,14
Material MJ/kg
Wrought Aluminum (Primary, average) 255

Copper (average) 151

Structural Polymers (Primary, average) 84

Magnesium (average) 80

Stainless Steels (average) 79

Rubber (average) 70

Cast Aluminum (Primary, average) 58

Plain Carbon and Low Alloy Steels (average) 51

Structural Polymers (secondary, average) 42

Figure 3: Energy content (embodied energy) vs. cost
Malleable Iron (average) 35
(UK) for various metallic and non-metallic
14
Glass (Primary, average) 30 materials.
Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) (average) 30 Figure 3 shows a roughly proportional relationship
Ductile Iron / CG Iron (average) 26 between embodied energy and cost. This relationship is
significant in the consideration to convert from one
Cast Aluminum (secondary, average) 23 material/process combination to another one. Figure 4
Gray Iron (average) 23 is also from Cambridge University. It takes a closer look
at the metals subset of materials in the analysis.

Table 2 brings into perspective the various

material/process combinations. For example, extracting
aluminum from Bauxite ore uses an energy intensive
electro-chemical winning process that uses large
amounts of electricity and produces vast amounts of
CO2. More efficient processes are being researched, but
the tabular numbers represent the current (average)
reality.

Note the large difference in embodied energy between

wrought, primary aluminum and cast, secondary
aluminum. In most engineering applications, wrought
aluminum parts use virgin materials. In cast aluminum
designs requiring significant toughness and fatigue
strength, the alloys utilized are typically all (or nearly all)
virgin materials; increasing their embodied energy. This
stands in contrast to the production of cast irons, which
can utilize up to 100% recycled materials in all
applications.

Cambridge Universitys Materials Engineering

Department has developed a clever visual for comparing
Figure 4: Energy content (embodied energy) vs. cost Figure 5: Relative mass per unit of yield strength for
14
(UK) for various metallic materials. various materials. (Forged carbon steel centered on
unity).
One can see that cast irons (including ductile iron) are at
the lower energy/cost end of the distribution while Figure 5 implies that with proper design, ADI can replace
titanium is at the higher energy/cost end of the metals aluminum at equal mass. Extrapolating that to embodied
spectrum. This comparison is useful to us in evaluating energy leads to the conclusion that a thin-walled ADI part
the embodied energy in a conversion. that is of equal weight to its larger/thicker cast aluminum
counterpart embodies 48% less energy, (30MJ/kg for
If one is building a mechanical device and wishes to ADI vs. 58MJ/kg for cast primary aluminum). This is
define its dynamic vibrational performance in service, reflected in the market price and ADI components are
one must look to stiffness; but at what cost? Table 3 typically priced at 25-50% less than the aluminum
integrates the stiffness, specific gravity and embodied components they replace.
energy of several materials. In other words, for a given
input load, how much would the various cross sections ADI will not replace a 3mm wall aluminum die casting at
(or section moduli) have to be increased to result in the equal mass. However, leading-edge metal casting
same deflection; thus affecting the mass of the techniques can produce 3mm wall ADI components that
component. The resultant number is the embodied will replace 8-10mm wall aluminum components15 at a
energy necessary to produce a component of equivalent significantly lower price. Figure 6 shows a prototype ADI
stiffness (compared to a 1kg steel part). bracket with a (typical) 3mm wall.

Table 3: Embodied energy in a component designed

to achieve an equivalent vibrational response.
Relative Embodied
Relative Mass Volume for Energy for
Material for Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent
Stiffness Stiffness Stiffness
(kg) (cm3) (MJ)
Wrought Carbon Steel 1.00 128 51
ADI 1.25 174 38
Primary Aluminum
-Forged 3.00 1,000 765
-Cast 3.00 1,000 174
Magnesium 4.70 2,765 376

In designs where stiffness is not a primary issue, the

specific strength can be used to compare various
materials for their suitability. Figure 5 compares the
specific strength (mass (weight) per unit of yield
strength) of several engineering materials.
Figure 6: An ADI prototype bracket with a continuous
3mm wall.

A European automaker had experienced a noise

problem with an aluminum alloy component produced
with a squeeze casting process. That bracket is shown
in Figure 7. A conservative ADI design produced by the
green sand casting process was proposed to replace the
existing aluminum design. The aluminum bracket was
3
370 cm in volume, weighing one kilogram with an
embodied energy of approximately 58 MJ. The thin-
3
walled ADI design was 160 cm in volume weighing 1.1
kg and embodying 33 MJ, over 40% less energy. The
ADI, with its higher damping coefficient, also proved to
be a cost effective, low energy, solution to the noise
problem.
 of 33MJ; a 65% reduction compared to the steel forging
(92MJ).

Figure 9: The finished, 0.93kg ADI end connector

was produced from a 1.09kg green sand casting.

When considering a conversion from a weldment to an

ADI casting, one must consider the added energy cost of
Figure 7: The ADI bracket (right) replaced the welding. Welding is, in fact, the remelting of metal. A
aluminum bracket (left) to solve a specific NVH typical, triangular weld of nickel-alloyed steel (0.6cm on a
problem. side) is estimated to embody 9MJ/m of weld. Figure 10
shows a rangeland seeder boot made from welded steel.
Wrought steel bars and plates can be purchased for very The part weighed 6.9 kg and contained roughly one
low per-kg prices. For example, merchant steel bar meter of weld for an entire embodied energy estimated
prices in 2009 averaged about 0.77 $US/kg; but, 25%- to be 361 MJ.
75% of the material is generally removed during the
machining process. Taking low-cost shapes (bars and
plates) and forging (or forming) them adds energy, but
reduces the material to a nearer net shape. Certain
features, like through holes and hollows, cannot be
formed into wrought parts. The end-connector link
shown in Figure 8 is a steel forging weighing 1.81kg with
an embodied energy of approximately 92 MJ. Finish
machining removed 0.82kg of chips resulting in a
machined part weighing 0.99kg.

Figure 10: A rangeland seeder boot fabricated from

cut, formed, punched and welded steel blanks.

The producer of the seeder boot sought to reduce the

cost and improve the performance of the boot and
designed an ADI conversion (Figure 11).

The ADI seeder boot (Figure 11) weighs 5.9kg, or 15%

less than the incumbent steel part that it replaced.
Figure 8: A 0.99kg steel end connector is produced Furthermore, the embodied energy of the ADI
from a 1.81kg forging. component at 177 MJ is 50% less than the welded steel
counterpart. The lower energy embodied in the ADI
Figure 9 shows an ADI solution to the end connector component is reflected in the price; 65% less than the
weldment.
depicted in Figure 8; a 1.09kg ADI casting produced by
the green sand process. This finished ADI end
connector weighed 0.93kg with a total embodied energy
 Steel stamping technology has improved with the
development of improved stamping equipment and steel
alloys that allow deeper drawing. One OEM producer of
light and medium duty trucks considered stamped steel
and ADI designs for a suspension upper control arm
(Figure 13).

The stamped steel arm weighed 15kg and embodied

energy of approximately 900MJ (including production
and welding of the separate ring). The one-piece, cast
ADI arm weighed 14kg and embodies 420MJ of energy
to produce, an energy savings of over 50%.

Figure 11: An ADI rangeland seeder boot produced

from a green sand ductile iron casting and machined
in the as-cast condition.

In the heavy transport industry, vehicle weight is critical

for a very different reason than fuel efficiency because
each additional kilogram of vehicle mass is one less
kilogram of goods that can be legally transported. As a
result, commercial trucking firms buy light-weight trailers
to maximize the weight of goods that can be loaded in
each trailer.

Aluminum wheel hubs have proven to be desireable over Figure 13: The ADI control arm (right) exceeded
traditional ductile iron hubs for their lower weight. testing requirements and replaced the stamped
However, for over a decade, light-weight ADI hubs have steel component (left) at a 6% weight savings.
been commercially available. Figure 12 shows an ADI
Dura-Light hub (left) and the traditional light-weight In a gasoline powered vehicle, the fuel energy
aluminum hub (right). Because of the high strength-to- consumption in mega-joules per kilometer (MJ/km) is
weight ratio of ADI, the ADI hub is actually 2% lighter decreased with decreased vehicle mass. A one kilogram
than the aluminum hub that it replaces. When you vehicle mass reduction results in a typical energy
consider the embodied energy in the aluminum hub decrease of 0.003 MJ/km (an increase in the fuel
16
(58MJ/kg) vs. the ADI (30 MJ/kg), the ADI hub has efficiency of 0.03 miles/gallon) . Converting two control
embodied energy that is 50% less than the permanent arms reduces vehicle mass by 2kg. For a vehicle life of
mold cast aluminum hub. 300,000km, the life-cycle fuel savings is estimated at
1800MJ (approximately 47 liters of fuel). If you include
the energy savings in manufacturing and the lifetime fuel
savings, the ADI conversion saves 2,760 MJ compared
to using stamped steel control arms.

SUMMARY

The concept of embodied energy can be a useful tool for

quantifying the sustainability of a certain design. When
embodied energy calculations are used to compare
various material/process combinations, a rough
proportionality can be drawn between embodied energy
and the components cost.

Low material density does not necessarily extrapolate

Figure 12: The ADI Dura-Light hub on the left into a lower weight, more efficient or lower embodied
replaced the permanent mold cast aluminum hub on energy component. ADIs high strength-to-weigh ratio
the right with a 50% savings in embodied energy and and stiffness allow it to replace materials like aluminum
a 2% weight reduction. or magnesium at equal mass in sections over 3mm.
Furthermore, its low embodied energy and recyclability
 th
give it superior sustainability compared to steel, 4. Machinerys Handbook- 28 Edition, 2008 Edited
aluminum or magnesium. by Erik Oberg et al, ISBN 9780831128005, Industrial
Press New York, NY, USA. www.industrialpress.com .
Properly designed ADI components can replace steel, 5. ASTM A897/A 897M-06, Standard Specification for
aluminum and magnesium components at lower life- Austempered Ductile Iron Castings, ASTM
cycle energy. Designers should consider total life-cycle International, West Conshohocken, PA, www.astm.org.
energy consumption in their designs and not be focused 6. ISO 17804:2005, Founding Ausferritic Spheroidal
solely on fuel efficiency or light weight. It seems that the Graphite Cast Irons Classification, ISO, Switzerland,
component with the lowest embodied energy capable of www.iso.org or www.ansi.org.
performing the component function may likely be the 7. SAE J2477:2004, Automotive Austempered Ductile
lowest cost solution.
(Nodular) Iron Castings (ADI), SAE International,
Warrendale, PA, www.sae.org.
ADI conversions offer Indian ductile iron producers an
8. AGMA 939-A07, Austempered Ductile Iron for
opportunity to enter markets not previously available to
them. Further, ADI conversions present Indian Gears, American Gear Manufacturers Association,
manufacturers a, profitable, low-energy alternative to Alexandria, VA, www.agma.org.
forgings and weldments. 9. Ductile Iron Data for Design Engineers, revised
1998, Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, Inc., Montreal, Quebec,
www.ductile.org.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10. Strain-life Fatigue Properties Database for Cast
Iron (CD), American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, IL
The author would like to thank Dr. Kathy Hayrynen, (USA), c2003.
Vasko Popovski and Ian Keough for their technical and 11. The Foundry Industry- Review of Process
editorial assistance with this paper. The author further Energy Use, Markets, and Information Resources,
thanks the staffs at Applied Process Inc., AP Westshore Report 155-1, May 1997. The Energy Center of
Inc. and AP Southridge Inc. (USA), AP Suzhou (China), Wisconsin 595 Scenic Drive, Madison, WI 53711.
ADI Engineering Processing and Heat Treatment 12. Dematerialisation: not just a matter of weight,
(Australia), ADI Treatments (UK) and Hightemp by E. van der Voet, L. van Oers and I. Nikolic, Center of
Furnaces (India) for their focus on effective ADI Environmental Science (CML) Leiden University,
conversions in the marketplace. Substances and Products Section, PO Box 9518 , 2300
RA Leiden, The Netherlands. www.leidenuniv.nl/cml
The author would also like to thank Teksid, Smith 13. The role of metals in sustainable development,
Foundry, Walther EMC, Grede LLC, ThyssenKrupp by T.E. Norgate and W.J. Rankin, CSIRO Minerals, PO
Waupaca, Chrysler Group LLC, The American Foundry Box 312, Clayton South, Victoria 3169 Australia.
Society and the Ductile Iron Society (US) for their 14. Cambridge University Materials Engineering Dept.,
contributions to the data and case studies in this paper. Cambridge, UK, www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk. (Figures
captured from website January 2010).
REFERENCES 15. Thin Wall Ductile and Austempered Iron
Castings as Substitutes for Aluminum Alloy
1. On the Road in 2020, by M.A. Weiss, J.B. Castings by E. Fras and M. Gorny, AGH University of
Heywood, E. M. Drake, A Schafer and F.F. AuYeung, Science and Technology, Cracow, Poland and H.F.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Lopez, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, WI (USA).
Laboratory Report No. MIT EL 00-003. International Foundry Research / Giessereiforschung 61
2. Life Cycle Energy Savings Potential from (2009) No. 3.
Aluminum-Intensive Vehicles, by F. Stodolsky, A. 16. Low Life-Cycle Energy Consumption in Car and
Vyas, R. Cuenca and L. Gaines, Argonne National Truck Radiators: Another Plus for Copper and Brass.
Laboratory- Transportation Technology R&D Center, www.copper.org. Copper Development Association (US).
Total Life Cycle Conference & Exposition, Vienna,
Austria, October 1995. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
3. Life-Cycle Analysis for Heavy Vehicles, by L.
Gaines, F. Stodolsky and R. Cuenca. Argonne National + Applied Process Inc. internal research
Laboratory-Transportation Technology R&D Center and +www.appliedprocess.com
J. Eberhardt, US Dept. of Energy Office of Heavy Vehicle
Technologies. Air & Waste Management Association CONTACT INFORMATION
Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA (USA), June 1998.
Questions may be directed to info@appliedprocess.com