Problems existing in the application of high performance nodular cast iron to the chassis of heavy-duty trucks

A. Cost problem: Although the as-cast high-performance ductile iron has less heat treatment than ADI castings, and has certain economic advantages, the price of raw and auxiliary materials and alloys for casting is rising, and the high-performance ductile iron has strict control requirements on the quality of raw and auxiliary materials and the type and amount of alloy elements added, resulting in the rising cost of raw materials. The high strength and toughness of high performance nodular cast iron can bring the economic advantages of casting lightweight, and whether it can offset the increase in the cost of nodular cast iron caused by the rise in the price of its raw materials has become a difficult problem for large-scale batch application of nodular cast iron.

B. Technical problems: due to the many production links of nodular cast iron and the difficulty of process control, the current technical level of suppliers varies greatly, which is mainly reflected in the differences in the stability and consistency of mechanical properties of nodular cast iron, rather than the differences in mechanical properties of single nodular cast iron. There is still room for technological progress in the further large-scale application of high-performance ductile iron castings in commercial vehicles.

C. Upstream and downstream cooperation problems: At present, when optimizing the structural design of high-performance ductile iron in the industry, the design department of the main engine plant usually uses finite element analysis software to optimize the design structure according to the service conditions, and adjusts the process optimization simulation gating system in the production plant, resulting in the strength analysis and process design being out of sync, the interaction is not smooth, and the closed-loop is not formed, which affects the optimal selection of materials and the performance of materials, It is easy to affect the service life of parts due to defects or insufficient design. How to make good use of simulation software to carry out efficient cooperation among enterprises, predict the defect type, defect size and defect location, give full play to the maximum advantages of material performance and structure, and thus form economic benefits advantages has become the key to whether high-performance ductile iron can play an important role in the lightweight of automobile parts.

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