Comparison between grey cast iron, white cast iron and spheroidal cast iron can be done in aspects like appearance, machinability and uses.
| S.no |
Grey Cast Iron
|
White Cast Iron
|
Spheroidal Cast Iron
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grey cast iron is an alloy of carbon and silicon with iron having grey color when fractured. It is marked by the presence of flakes of matrix of ferrite, pearlite or austenite. Carbon in iron exists in free form as graphite. | White cast iron has almost all its carbon as iron carbide. Its broken surface shows a bright white fracture. | Graphite appears as around Particles or spheroids. |
| 2 | Grey cast iron has good machinability, high wear resistance, high vibration damping capacity and high compressive strength. | White cast iron has poor machinability and excellent abrasive wear resistance. | Spheroidal cast iron has good machinability, good damping, excellent casting ability and sufficient wear resistance. |
| 3 | Grey cast iron is used in machine tool structure, Main-hole covers, cylinder blocks, heads for internal combustion engines, gas or water pipes for underground purposes, frames for electric motors, piston rings and sanitary wares. | White cast iron is used for producing malleable iron castings and manufacturing those structural component parts which require a hard and abrasion resistant material. | Spheroidal cast iron is used in internal combustion engines, paper industry machinery, machinery for farming and tractor, application, earth moving machinery, pipes, pumps, valve and fittings, compressors and construction machinery. |
