Due to its excellent performance and economy, nodular cast iron has replaced many traditional metal materials and is widely used in various fields of industry. Comparison of mechanical properties of various steel materials competing with nodular cast iron. It can be seen from the table that the performance of nodular cast iron is not only better than gray cast iron and malleable cast iron, but also compared with steel materials in strength. At present, the global annual output of nodular cast iron is still stable at an annual growth rate of 4% ~ 8%. Worldwide, the application of nodular cast iron in various industries accounts for about 50% of cast pipe parts, 20% ~ 25% of auto parts and 15 ~ 30% of other departments.
China is one of the countries with earlier development of nodular cast iron. As early as the early 1950s, Professor Wang Zunming of Tsinghua University began the research work of nodular graphite cast iron, and soon proved through experiments that the use of Cu Mg alloy as spheroidizing agent can effectively produce nodular cast iron. In 1951, he went to Fushun to manufacture nodular cast iron on an industrial scale, making the domestic nodular cast iron production technology more and more perfect. For decades, China has made many progress in the production technology of nodular cast iron. The output of castings has ranked first in the world for more than ten consecutive years, accounting for nearly half of the total output of the world. According to statistics, the annual output of nodular cast iron in China has reached 13.95 million tons by 2019.
However, while affirming the development achievements of China’s nodular cast iron, it should also be recognized that China’s nodular cast iron industry is still facing many deep-seated problems, such as the production scale and specialization of cast iron, the comprehensive quality of nodular cast iron and the overall economic benefits. There is still a big gap with other advanced industrial countries in the world. At present, using computer simulation and simulation to predict and prevent the possible problems in the production of nodular graphite castings has become a new trend in the research of countries all over the world. It will also be an important means for Chinese foundry enterprises to improve nodular graphite casting process and control casting quality in the future.