Sustainable development
100% recycled material
Spheroidal graphite cast iron is a 100% recycled material. It effectively contributes to the recycling and reuse of ferrous alloy waste. It successfully helps in preserving natural world resources.
The metallic cupola charge, routed locally by rail freight, comes entirely from the recycling line. It consists of mixed ferrous alloy scrap, automotive baled steel scrap and the foundry’s own recovery. The recycled scrap is rigorously sorted by class and quality to ensure that the requirements for chemical composition and mechanical characteristics of the material are strictly met. At the end of its service life, ductile cast iron is in its turn fully recyclable.
Excellent mouldability
The mouldability of ductile cast iron enables integration of the Plug&Drive© joint system from the prefabrication phase. The spin cast tubes are shaped by centrifugation: the liquid metal at almost 1,400°C is forced by centrifugal action against the wall of the mould simultaneously in rotation and translation. It solidifies in contact with its water cooled surface.
The male and female tapered ends are exactly shaped in the cavity of the mould. They are formed together with the pipe shaft as a single-cast. This unique one-piece construction eliminates the need for later machining of the tubes and traditional pile splicing or butt welding on site.
Resistance to corrosion
Our ductile cast iron is 100% ferritic. Cast iron corrodes in a different way to steel, due to the fact that it has a notably higher content of silicon and carbon.
The annealing heat treatment of spheroidal graphite cast iron naturally entails the formation of an extremely adherent thin layer of iron oxide and silicate, called scale or casting skin, thus creating an efficient and sustainable protection against corrosion.
Impact resistance
Unlike grey cast iron, in which the graphite appears in the form of flakes, the microstructure of ductile cast iron inserts the free carbon in the form of spheres, thus eliminating brittleness. Ductile cast iron acquires its resilience and its high ductility through magnesium treatment of the liquid metal. The explosive reaction takes place shortly before the centrifugal casting.
Ductile cast iron piles withstand very hard driving and offer a remarkable penetration force. The design of ductile cast iron piles means that driving and handling stresses which can occur during pile installation or hoisting the tubes are no problem at all.
Constant industrial quality
The prefabrication of ductile cast iron piles ensures constant industrial quality and plentiful availability of products. Thanks to a fast production process, the tubes are readily available from stock in standardised dimensions. Large quantities can be planned in accordance with the factory and the schedule of the construction project.
The industrial prefabrication ensures consistent quality of the tubes attested by the CE marking, authenticated by the NF EN 10204 test certificates and the NF EN ISO 9001 certificate to quality assurance.