Advantages and Disadvantages
Gray iron is a common engineering alloy because of its relatively low cost and good machinability, which results from the graphite lubricating the cut and breaking up the chips. It also has good galling and wear resistance because the graphite flakes self lubricate. The graphite also gives gray iron an excellent damping capacity because it absorbs the energy. It also experiences less solidification shrinkage than other cast irons that do not form a graphite microstructure. The silicon promotes good corrosion resistance and increase fluidity when casting. Gray iron is generally considered easy to weld. Compared to the more modern iron alloys, gray iron has a low tensile strength and ductility; therefore, its impact and shock resistance is almost non-existent.
| Materials | Damping capacity† |
|---|---|
| Gray iron (high carbon equivalent) | 100–500 |
| Gray iron (low carbon equivalent) | 20–100 |
| Ductile iron | 5–20 |
| Malleable iron | 8–15 |
| White iron | 2–4 |
| Steel | 4 |
| Aluminum | 0.4 |
| †Natural log of the ratio of successive amplitudes | |
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