Ductile iron pipes castings are produced using ductile iron and are commonly used for transmission and distribution of water. The ductile iron is characterized by nodular or spheroidal nature of graphite present inside it. Talking on chemical terms, these pipes are similar to gray cast iron pipes and the difference between them is that gray cast iron pipe has graphite flakes, whereas ductile iron pipe has graphite nodules that promote tensile strength 350 N/mm² to 1500 N/mm² of the gray cast iron pipe and high toughness. Moreover, CI or gray iron pipes are much brittle due to lack of ductility.
There Are Three Key Sections That Make Ductile Iron Pipe:
- Socket
- Barrel
- Spigot
Socket- it is one of the ends of ductile cast iron pipe and is usually known as the front portion of the pipe. Socket is the thicker portion of the pipe that is made by using sand core, which is made of silica. Engineers arrange the core at the front portion of the centrifugal casting machine and the socket is made while the centrifugal casting is prepared.
Barrel- it is the critical body section of the ductile pipe that has thin section as compared to spigot and socket. While casting process, engineers perform swift solidification process for this particular section as it is the long section that covers ductile iron pipe vastly.
Spigot- This is the second end of ductile iron pipe that is developed during the casting process. This section is the smaller one that solidifies lastly when the centrifugal casting process is going on. Spigot is jointed with socket section during the installation process of ductile iron pipe network.
Advantages of Ductile Castings-
- Easy to install
- Durable
- High corrosion resistance
- High tensile strength
- Excellent ductility