ISSN 0031918X, The Physics of Metals and Metallography, 2012, Vol. 113, No. 7, pp. 716720.

Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2012.

Original Russian Text S.A. Golovin, 2012, published in Fizika Metallov i Metallovedenie, 2012, Vol. 113, No. 7, pp. 756760.
716
INTRODUCTION
One of the demands imposed in engineering indus
try on the functional materials is their capacity to
damp hazardous vibrations. Therefore, the problem of
the damping capacity of cast irons attracts attention of
specialists for many decades. The urgency of this prob
lem is determined by the practical importance of these
developments in many fields of engineering and tech
nology and by the scientific interest in the investiga
tions of cast irons as model materials for metallic com
positions with a sharply pronounced heterogeneity
[13]. In this work, we estimated the contribution of
graphite as a structural component to the dissipation
of energy in systems (cast irons) with different struc
tures of the matrix phase. This problem was consid
ered in two aspects: what is the mechanism of internal
absorption of the energy in graphite and what are the
effects of graphite on the properties of cast irons with
different structures?
EXPERIMENTAL
The amplitudedependent internal friction (ADIF)
was measured using samples of electrode graphite
(EUZM, Russian Standard GOST 1027479) and
gray cast iron with lamellar graphite in ferrite, pearlite,
and martensite matrices. The measurements of the
ADIF (at a frequency of 3 Hz) were performed using a
TA Instruments Q800 dynamic mechanical analyzer
(DMA) on samples with dimensions of 35 6 1.5 mm
in the regime of forced bending vibrations at room
temperature.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The ADIF of graphite attracted great interest of
many researchers [48]. Upon measurements at vari
ous temperatures below room temperature, the ampli
tudeindependent regime of the energy dissipation has
not been reached for the deformations
0
= 5 10
7
even at 50 K. The processing of the data on the ampli
tudedependent IF was mainly performed in terms of
the vibratingstring model [9]. Tsuzuku and Saito
[7, 8] tried to obtain corresponding data for various
types of carbon and graphite by plotting curves in the
coordinates of the GranatoLcke (GL) model of the
ADIF. In spite of the controversy between the results
of Tsuzuku and Saito [7] and measurements per
formed by Merlin et al. [5, 6], no direct correlation
with the phenomenological model in the amplitude
range from 10
5
to 4 10
3
has been found; deviations
from this model were observed for both the low and
high amplitudes.
An analysis of the mechanisms of ADIF in graphite
was performed in [4], where it was shown that the
ADIF plots constructed by the author and by other
researchers in the coordinates of the GL model make
it possible on the whole to qualitatively describe the
ADIF of graphite in terms of the GL model but do not
reflect the complete spectrum of the mechanisms of
the energy dissipation in the wide range of the ampli
tudes of deformation. The interval of the working
amplitudes of deformations in which the string model
was adequately fulfilled for the ADIF curves in graph
ite was quite limited. It was noted previously that the
anomalously high amplitudeindependent IF near
On the Damping Capacity of Cast Irons
S. A. Golovin
Tula State University, pr. Lenina 92, Tula, 300600 Russia
Received October 4, 2011;
in final form, December 13, 2011
AbstractThe treatment of experimental data on the amplitudedependent internal friction (ADIF) in
terms of various theoretical models has revealed a staged character and the main mechanisms of the processes
of energy dissipation in graphite with increasing amplitude of vibrations upon cyclic loading. It is shown that
the level of the damping capacity of lamellar cast iron depends on the relationship between the elastic and
strength characteristics of graphite and the matrix phase. In cast irons with a rigid matrix structure (pearlite,
martensite), the energy dissipation is determined by the volume fraction and morphology of the initial graph
ite phase. In cast irons with a softer metallic phase (ferrite), the contact interaction of graphite inclusions with
the matrix and the properties of the matrix introduce additional sources of high damping.
Keywords: graphite, cast iron, damping capacity, mechanisms of energy dissipation, dislocation model,
microplastic model
DOI: 10.1134/S0031918X12070058
STRENGTH
AND PLASTICITY
THE PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 113 No. 7 2012
ON THE DAMPING CAPACITY OF CAST IRONS 717
room temperatures in graphite is controlled by the
motion of dislocations in the periodic field of stresses
and can be interpreted in terms of the string model
[10, 11]. In pure metals the region of the manifestation
of dislocation vibrations, according to the GL model,
is limited by the critical deformations corresponding
to the onset of the breakaway of dislocation segments
(
cr1
) and of dislocation loops (
cr2
) from the rigid pin
ning junctions [12. This suggests that with increasing
amplitude of stresses in graphite, there also can mani
fest themselves phenomena of micro (or macro) plas
ticity. Therefore, for the description of the energy dis
sipation in the case of ADIF it is necessary to use the
corresponding models of the energy dissipation and
calculated dependences for the determination of the
plastic component of IF [13].
Peguin et al. [14] used, as the basic calculated char
acteristic of the model, a deformation due to the ther
mally activated process whose activation energy U is
controlled by the magnitude of the shear stress neces
sary for a dislocation to overcome an obstacle. The
corresponding component of the microplastic energy
dissipation
pl
was defined as
pl
= exp[B(
i
)],
where B = V is the activation volume, = 0.5,
and = 0.51. This makes it possible to admit the
appearance of a linear dependence upon the process
ing of the ADIF data in the ln(
pl
) (
i
) coordi
nates. Since the effective activation volume also is a
function of the applied stress, Burdett showed [15]
that the linearization can also be expected in the
(
pl
)(
i
)
1/2
coordinates, in which case the slope is
equal to ~
Mason and Beshers [16] showed that in the case of
deformation amplitudes exceeding
cr2
(in the region of
macroplasticity), the unstable dislocation loops form
equilibrium pileups near grain boundaries. The velocity
of dislocation motion is controlled by the linear viscous
drag of dislocations. The computational model in this
case suggests the linearization of the corresponding seg
ments of the ADIF curves in the ln(
u
)ln coor
dinates, where the values of
u
should be checked in a
sufficiently wide range of deformation amplitudes
above
cr2
.
Below, we processed the experimental data on the
ADIF of graphite in terms of the above theoretical
models and constructed the derivatives of the calcu
lated curves. The procedure of the representation of
the results of measurements and of the processing of
the experimental data was described in detail in [13].
Figure 1 displays the ADIF curves of graphite corre
sponding to a successively stepped increase in the
deformation amplitude in the cycles of loading
2
A
,
V U
kT

1 2
.
2
U
kT
unloading (LU). Note that the adaptation to the
conditions of the stepped mode of measurement of the
ADIF curves occurs in the entire range of deformation
amplitudes; each previous LU cycle changes the
shape and the opening of the next loop upon the
increase in the deformation amplitude. The closed con
tours of the arising amplitude dependence of the IF at
the deformation amplitudes below 4 10
4
suggest the
possibility of oscillations of dislocation loops within the
string model; at larger amplitudes, an opening of the
LU loops takes place and a residual microdeforma
tion (zero drift) after the unloading is observed.
As a criterion of the applicability of this or that
model for the description of the experimental ADIF
curve, we assumed the linearization of the curve (or
some its part) in the coordinates adopted in the model.
The occurrence of a linearization was checked by con
structing curves of the derivatives of the functions. The
derivatives were calculated using three nearest points
in terms of the parabolic approximation and double
smoothing.
It is seen that none of the models under consider
ation provides a linearization in the corresponding
coordinates in the entire range of deformation ampli
tudes studied. With increasing deformation ampli
tude, a twostage mechanism of the manifestation of
anelasticity is developed in graphite. At the first stage,
up to the amplitudes
cr2
~ 2 10
4
, the mechanism of
the manifestation of the anelastic reversible oscilla
tions of dislocations as in the model of an edgefixed
string is confirmed by the values of the derivatives of
the corresponding curves (Fig. 2a). At the amplitudes
exceeding
cr2
, a more probable model is that based on
the breakaway of moving dislocations from related
impurity atmospheres and on the overcoming of the
shortrange and longrange obstacles in the slip plane
in the field of the applied stresses (Fig. 2b). The vis
cous motion of dislocations and the structural rear
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.0016 0.0012 0.0008 0.0004 0

Graphite
1st measurement
2nd measurement
3rd measurement
4th measurement
1
2
3
4

Fig. 1. ADIF curves of graphite corresponding to a stepped

increase in the deformation amplitude.
718
THE PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 113 No. 7 2012
GOLOVIN
8
10
12
14
2
16
80 60 40 20 0 100
8
10
12
14
16
16 12 8 4 0
3 18
1
0 8
6
4
2
0
0.8
1.2
1.6
2.0
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 2.5
0
2.4
1
2
ln[(
0
)]
dln[(
0
)]/d
1
1/ 10
3
ln[(
0
)]
10
4
dln[(
0
)]/d
log(
0
) dlog(
0
)/dlog
log
() (b)
(c)
Fig. 2. ADIF curves of graphite constructed in (a) GranatoLcke, (b) Peguine, and (c) Mason coordinates (open symbols) and
the derivatives of the corresponding curves (solid symbols).
rangement according to the Mason model are not con
firmed for graphite (Fig. 2c). The values of the deforma
tion amplitudes reached in measurements were
insufficient for the manifestation of macroplasticity;
with increasing amplitudes, cleavage without a residual
deformation was observed in the graphite samples.
An analysis of the mechanisms of the energy dissi
pation in graphite in terms of the above models used
for the description of the ADIF has shown that with
increasing stresses, there are observed two stages of the
energy dissipation, namely, a stage of oscillations of
fixed dislocation loops (GL model) and a stage of
Chemical composition, structure, and volume fractions of graphite in the cast irons of the grades under consideration
Grade
of cast iron
Contents of elements, %
Structure (according to Russian
Standard GOST 344387)
Volume fraction
of graphite, %
Elasticity modulus E,
MPa
C Si Mn Base Type of graphite
SChf 3.68 2.17 0.32 Ferrite PGf1PGd45PGr1 8.21 112500
SChp 2.84 1.54 0.34 Pearlite PGf1PGd45PGr1 6.26 126500
SChm 2.84 1.54 0.34 PGf1PGd45PGr1 6.26
THE PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 113 No. 7 2012
ON THE DAMPING CAPACITY OF CAST IRONS 719
microplasticity due to the breakaway of dislocations
and their thermoactivational overcoming of obstacles
in the slip planes.
The damping capacity of cast iron is mainly related
to the contact interaction of graphite with the matrix
phase. The character of the development of local
deformations in cast iron is mainly determined by the
morphology of graphite inclusions and by the struc
ture of the matrix phase [17]. The increase in the
damping capacity of cast iron is related to the inhomo
geneity of the stressstrain state of the matrix, which
determines the level of stress concentration near
graphite inclusions and the structure of the metallic
matrixgraphite interphase boundaries. In the litera
ture, there have been published numerous results of
measurements of the ADIF in graphite but no unam
biguous answer exists on what the mechanisms of the
energy dissipation that determine their damping prop
erties are.
Figure 3a displays the ADIF curves of the cast irons
and electrode graphite of the grades listed in the table.
In Fig. 3b, the ADIF curves are shown for the cast
irons on the ferrite and pearlite bases with the subtrac
tion of the ADIF values of graphite. For a given class
of cast irons and the same conditions of measurements
of the ADIF, these data make it possible to estimate
the effects of graphite and of the matrix phase on the
damping capacity of the cast irons. For the lamellar
gray cast iron on the ferrite base, the energy dissipation
strongly increases with increasing amplitude of oscil
lations both due to the graphite phase and the addi
tional sources of the energy absorption, e.g., at the
boundaries between the matrix and graphite phases,
due to the formation and growth of local microdefor
mations near inclusions, magnetic dissipation of the
energy in ferrite, etc.
In the cast irons with a more rigid (in terms of
strength and elasticity) base, i.e., pearlite and marten
site, the real level of the damping of vibrations in the
lamellar cast iron is determined by the volume fraction
and shape of graphite inclusions. In this case, the
ADIF of the cast iron is virtually independent of the
structure of the matrix and its properties; the deter
mining contribution to the energy dissipation is that of
graphite. Naturally, the above conclusion is valid for
the concrete (aboveindicated) specified structures.
CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusions of the work are as follows.
(1) An analysis of the mechanisms of the energy
dissipation in graphite in terms of the existing theoret
ical models used for the description of amplitude
dependent internal friction (ADIF) has shown that
with increasing stresses, there develop two stages of the
anelastic absorption of energy of the applied oscilla
tions: a stage of oscillations of pinned dislocations
(GranatoLcke model); and a stage of microplastic
ity caused by the breakaway of dislocations from
impurity atmospheres and dislocation motion with the
overcoming obstacles existing in the slip planes.
(2) A hypothesis is suggested that the level of damp
ing of oscillations in lamellar cast iron changes with
increasing amplitude of deformation as a function of
the relationship between the mechanical properties
(ultimate strength, elasticity modulus) of the graphite
and the matrix. In cast irons with a rigid matrix struc
ture (pearlite, martensite), the determining factor is
the effect of graphite on the energy dissipation. In cast
irons with a softer metallic base (ferrite), the main
sources of high damping capacity are related to both
the absorption of energy in graphite and to the contact
interaction of graphite with the matrix phase.
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0.030
0.024
0.018
0.012
0.006
0.0002 0.0004 0.0003 0.0001
0.016
0.012
0.008
0.004
0
0.0002 0.0004 0.0003 0.0001 0.0001
SChf
Graphite
SChp
SChm
Q
1

1
Q
n
1

Q
1 () (b)
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720
THE PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 113 No. 7 2012
GOLOVIN
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