Examination of Electrical Resistance of Carburizers Used for Cast Iron Production

The publication presents the results of examination of selected carburizers used for cast iron production with respect to their electric resistance. Both the synthetic graphite carburizers and petroleum coke (petcoke) carburizers of various chemical composition were compared. The relationships between electrical resistance of tested carburizers and their quality were found. The graphite carburizers exhibited much better conductivity than the petcoke ones. Resistance characteristics were different for the different types of carburizers. The measurements were performed according to the authors’ own method based on recording the electric current flow through the compressed samples. The samples of the specified diameter were put under pressure of the gradually increased value (10, 20, 50, 60, and finally 70 bar), each time the corresponding value of electric resistance being measured with a gauge of high accuracy, equal to 0.1μΩ. The higher pressure values resulted in the lower values of resistance. The relation between both the thermal conductance and the electrical conductance (or the resistance) is well known and mentioned in the professional literature. The results were analysed and presented both in tabular and, additionally, in graphic form.