EVALUATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, WEAR AND HARDENING POTENTIALS OF CASSAVA LEAVES (MANIHOT SPP), FeCr, AND FeMo ON CASE HARDENED DUCTILE IRON
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59957/jctm.v60.i4.2025.15Keywords:
case hardening, diffusion, ductile iron, hardness, fracture toughnessAbstract
In this study, ductile iron was produced using lift out crucible furnace and was “packed” case hardened with simulated carbide from Ferrochromium (FeCr), Ferromolybdenum (FeMo) mixed with graphites, and grinded cassava leaves (Manihot Spp), by heating to temperature of 850oC in the presence of snail shell as energizer, held for 2 hours in the muffle furnace and were quenched in SAE 20W-50 engine oil. They were tempered at 500oC for 2 hours and allowed to cool in air to room temperature. Both the treated and untreated samples were characterized with metallurgical microscope. Wear and mechanical tests such as hardness, tensile and fracture toughness were carried out on treated and untreated samples. The microstructural features shows sample A treated with FeCr and graphite to have clusters of diffused carbides, that of B treated with FeMo and graphite showed finely dispersed carbide around the nodules and that of C was seen with diffused carbo-nitrided compounds or cyanide finely dispersed into the structure. Sample C treated with cassava leaves has the highest hardness value and lowest wear rate, followed by sample A treated with FeCr, then sample B treated with FeMo. Sample A has a slightly higher fracture toughness and UTS than sample C.
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