1. Typical applications of steel casting materials
With the challenges faced by the steel casting industry in various aspects such as changes in the international market, requirements for low-carbon economy, and economic adjustment, the development of the steel casting industry will no longer be an increase in output and the number of steel casting plants, but a relatively stable output. The quality, variety, performance, and proportion of alloy steel and special steel of steel castings will continue to increase. Steel castings are widely used in ships and vehicles, construction machinery, engineering machinery, and power station equipment In the fields of mining machinery and power station equipment, metallurgical equipment, aviation and aerospace equipment, oil wells and chemical equipment, typical applications of different types of cast steel materials are listed in the table for reference in material design and selection.
| Cast steel materials | Typical application areas |
| Pressure bearing steel castings (ISO 4991) | Widely used in core components that require specific pressure bearing functions, such as new energy solar monocrystalline silicon furnaces, heavy-duty gas turbine unit thermal components outer (inner) shells, combustion chamber cones, nozzle chambers, etc., helium fourth generation nuclear power unit first and second circuit pipe fittings, military and weapon special equipment, high-end medical equipment, marine equipment, petrochemical equipment, etc |
| High strength cast steel for general engineering and structural purposes (ISO 9477) | Widely used in parts with strength performance, such as manufacturing bridges, ships, vehicles, boilers, high-pressure vessels, large structural components, etc |
| Cast tool steel (ISO 10679) | Widely used in high-strength low alloy casting tool steel, casting tool steel with functions such as heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance, such as silicon steel sheet stamping dies, cold cutting scissors, trimming dies, boilers, refineries, chemical equipment, heat exchangers, etc |
| Corrosion resistant cast steel for general purposes (ISO 11972) | Widely used in marine engineering, petroleum, chemical, energy, and rail transit fields, parts with corrosion resistance are required, such as pipelines, valves, pumps, reactors, and containers |
| Heat resistant cast steel and alloys for general purposes (ISO 11973) | Widely used in cast steel or alloy steel that requires high strength and good chemical stability at high temperatures, such as in the manufacturing of components working at high temperatures in industrial sectors such as boilers, steam turbines, power machinery, industrial furnaces, aviation, petrochemicals, etc |
| Austenitic manganese steel castings (ISO 13521) | Widely used in components that require wear resistance or non-magnetic properties, such as manufacturing ball mill liners, hammer heads of hammer crushers, jaw plates of jaw crushers, rolling mortar walls and crushing walls of cone crushers, excavator bucket teeth and bucket walls, etc; Structural materials for generator protective rings, large nuclear fusion devices, superconducting power generation, transmission, and energy storage equipment, such as non-magnetic steel castings |
| Centrifuge cast steel and alloy castings – Part 2: Heat resistant materials (ISO 13583-2) | Widely used in alloy steel castings that require good heat resistance, centrifugal casting heat-resistant alloy materials are widely used in the petrochemical industry, especially in the core components of petrochemical equipment. |
| General purpose cast carbon steel and low alloy (ISO 14737) | Widely used in the manufacturing of basic components in various fields such as machinery, mining, electromechanical, metallurgy, petrochemicals, transportation, ships, etc., it is the most widely used steel grade, such as important equipment parts such as steam turbines, gas turbines, water turbines, centrifugal pumps, axial pumps, etc. |
| Alloy cast steel with special physical properties (ISO 19960) | Widely used in cast steel and alloy parts that require special physical properties such as magnetism, electrical properties, elasticity, and thermal expansion, such as pumps, valve bodies (doors), rotors, bearing materials, bearings, Babbitt alloys, anti friction and wear-resistant components, as well as heat-resistant components such as nozzles, furnace bases, and bottom rollers for steel and metallurgical production. |
2. New Trends in the Development of International Standards for Steel Casting
As a domestic technical counterpart of ISO/TC17/SC11, China National Machinery Engineering Corporation Shenyang Foundry Research Institute Co., Ltd. (National Foundry Standardization Technical Committee) is responsible for the centralized management of international standardization work in the field of steel castings in China. By participating in the annual conference organized by ISO/TC17/SC11, I timely learned about the current status and trends of foreign steel casting technology development, as well as the changes in ISO guidelines and standard technical clauses, which has played a positive role in improving the level and international status of China’s steel casting materials. With the increasing attention paid by countries to international standardization work, new requirements and changes have been put forward for international standardization work:
(1) Actively pay attention to the application of new processes and technologies in the production of steel casting, and propose relevant standards for the application of new technologies and processes in the field of steel casting.
(2) Actively proposing new international standards for intelligent detection, ISO/TC17/SC11 attaches great importance to the technological development and industrial application of intelligent detection.
(3) The President of ISO/TC17/SC11 and representatives of P member countries (with voting rights) attach great importance to the opinions and suggestions put forward by China. In the past 20 years, China’s casting technology has developed rapidly and has independently developed multiple national standards for steel casting. Based on this, efforts should be made to enhance the industry’s independent innovation capabilities, strengthen international exchanges, closely follow the development of advanced foreign technical standards, actively promote the “going out” of Chinese standards, comprehensively promote the coordinated development of Chinese standards and international standards, and help the high-quality development of China’s casting industry.
3. Conclusion
(1) The purpose of this article is to help design engineers better understand the differences between China’s steel casting materials, standards, and related testing methods and international standards. With the improvement of China’s steel casting materials and manufacturing level, especially the application of new technologies, processes, and methods, it will undoubtedly promote the rapid development of standardization work in China.
(2) The ISO standard provides a large amount of basic data on the mechanical and physical properties of steel casting materials, which can be used as a reference for design engineers. By understanding and familiarizing themselves with the technical development and changes of international standards for steel casting, differences in standard understanding can be eliminated, and technical trade barriers can be avoided.
(3) With the proposal of high-quality development guidance for China’s casting industry, focusing on national strategies and industrial development needs, strengthening the construction of standard systems for casting energy consumption, material consumption, pollution prevention and control, comprehensive resource utilization, and clean production, key standards are being developed around steel casting materials, melt purification technology, high-precision defect quantification prediction technology, numerical simulation and digital management of the entire casting process, Fill in the gaps and weaknesses, forge the advantages of the long board, and enhance the stability and competitiveness of the industrial mother machine supply chain.