The present work analyzes the mechanical properties of plates with thickness ranged between 1.5 to 4mm. Heats with different carbon equivalent (CE) were produced and resin bonded sand molds with vertical and horizontal gating systems were pour. Nodules counting ranged between 900 to 2200 nod/mm2 were obtained. All plates were ferritized prior to machining tensile test samples in order to avoid the influence of the different micro constituents. Elongation values higher than the values stipulate in the ASTM A356 standard were obtained, reaching up to 32% in plates of 4mm thickness, vertical mold. The influence of CE, nodule count and chemical composition on the mechanical properties were established.

El presente trabajo analiza las propiedades mecánicas de placas de fundición nodular con espesores que varían entre 1.5 y 4 mm, coladas en moldes de arena con modelos de disposición vertical y horizontal. Se realizaron coladas con distintos carbonos equivalentes, obteniéndose conteos nodulares en el rango de 900 a 2200 nod/mm2. Todas las probetas ensayadas fueron sometidas previamente a un tratamiento de ferritizado, a fin de evitar la influencia de los distintos microconstituyentes. Se obtuvieron resultados de alargamiento a la rotura que superan lo estipulado por la norma ASTM A536, lográndose valores de hasta 32%, en placas de 4 mm de espesor coladas en molde vertical. Se establecieron las influencias que el Carbono Equivalente (CE), el conteo nodular y la composición química ejercen sobre las propiedades mecánicas.

Impact tests were done on spheroidal graphite cast iron samples, with five different microstructures. These were obtained by means of the following heat treatments: subcritical annealing, normalizing and two different austempering processes. Other samples were tested in their as-cast condition. The tests were carried out in a temperature range from -100°C to +100°C. Also, tensile tests and hardness measurements were performed to qualify the samples. Every specimen came from a single melt, cast in "Y" blocks of two different thicknesses. The impact test results showed an alteration in the fracture behaviour as a function of temperature. The transition temperature, in particular, showed a meaningful shift with the enlargement of the "Y" block. This feature can lead to lower performances than expected. The harder and tougher the matrix, the more important this shift was.

The spheroidal graphite (SG) cast iron fractomechanical response varies with the test temperature and with the microstructure parameters. In the present paper, we analyze this variation performing fractomechanical tests in a temperature range from -40°C to +20°C, doing also Charpy and tensile tests for material characterization. The tests were carried out on as-cast samples and heat treated samples to obtain an ADI grade 1. In both cases, we studied samples taken from two well differentiated "Y" block sizes. The results obtained show that, for the chemical composition analyzed, both castings have a fractomechanical response decrease as the temperature diminishes. Besides, the block size enlargement produce a deterioration of the mechanical properties (the fracture toughness, mainly), for both castings.