Extended method of volume change measurements during solidification of lamellar graphite iron

Lamellar graphite iron (LGI) is an important technical alloy used to produce cast components for the automotive and the marine industry. The performance of the component is defined by the solidification sequence. Therefore, a lot of research work has been done in the field of solidification. The present work introduces a new measurement approach that combines advanced dilatation measurements with thermal analysis to investigate the solidification of LGI. The method involves a thermally balanced spherical sample. The temperature values are measured in the geometrical center and on the surface of the sample. The released heat of solidification is calculated by using the Fourier Thermal Analysis (FTA) method. The displacement values are measured on the surface of the sample. The volume change is calculated from the displacement data. The dilatation results clearly shows the advantage of the multidirectional measurement.