Medium carbon steel alloy design for wear applications

The fracture characteristics of steels are strongly influenced by martensite substructure, retained austenite stability, and morphology. Attractive strength-toughness properties have been attained with Fe-Cr-C-Mn alloys. These alloys, when tested under sliding wear conditions, also exhibit good wear resistance which compares favorably with that of commercial wear-resistant alloys. The most significant finding is an apparently strong correlation between sliding wear resistance and retained austenite, which in turn appears to correlate with Charpy impact properties. Little correlation was observed between hardness and wear resistance for the experimental steels.     

Tempering temperature effects on abrasive wear of mottled cast iron

The effects of different tempering temperatures (300–600 °C) on abrasive wear resistance of mottled cast iron were studied. Abrasive wear tests were carried out using the rubber-wheel test on quartz sand and the pin test on Al₂O₃ abrasive cloths. The retained austenite content of the matrix was determined by X-ray diffraction. The wear surface of the specimens was examined by scanning electron microscopy for identifying the wear micromechanism. Bulk hardness and matrix hardness before and after the tests were measured. The results showed that in the two-body (pin-on-disc test) system, the main wear mechanism was microcutting and high matrix hardening was presented. The wear rates presented higher correlation with the retained austenite than with the bulk and matrix hardness. In the three-body system (sand–rubber wheel), the wear surfaces presented indentations due to abrasive rolling. The wear rates had better correlation with both the bulk and matrix hardness (before and after the wear test) than with the retained austenite content. There are two groups of results, high and low wear rates corresponding to each tribosystem, two-body abrasive wear and three-body abrasive wear, respectively.     

Influence of temperature of sub-zero treatments on the wear behaviour of die steel

This study examines the influence of temperature of sub-zero treatment on the wear behaviour of AISI D2 steel. A series of dry sliding wear studies have been made under constant normal load at varying sliding velocities. Emphasis has been laid to understand the operative modes and mechanisms of wear by the estimation of specific wear rates and detailed characterizations of the worn surfaces, wear debris and subsurfaces with the help of scanning electron microscope (SEM) examinations coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalyses. The obtained results unambiguously infer that lower the temperature of sub-zero treatment higher is the improvement in wear resistance. Wear resistance can increase by 1.5–125 times depending on sliding velocity while hardness increases only by 4.2% at the lowest temperature of sub-zero treatment (77 K) compared to the conventionally treated specimens. These results corroborate well with the reduction in retained austenite content associated with simultaneous increase in the amount of secondary carbide particles with lowering of sub-zero treatment temperature. The operative modes and mechanisms of wear are identified as either mild oxidative or severe delaminative, which depends on the temperature of sub-zero treatment and the sliding velocity of the wear test.     

深冷处理对CrWMn钢组织性能影响

测定了经不同规范热处理后ＣｒＷＭｎ钢组织和性能。结果表明，与常规热处理、冷处理相比较，深冷处理使残余奥氏体量减少，硬度增加，耐磨性提高．但耐磨性并不始终随硬度增加而提高，只有硬度与韧性较好地匹配，才能得到较高的耐磨性．     

The effects of retained austenite on dry sliding wear behavior of carburized steels

Ring-on-square tests on two kinds of low-alloy carburized steel which were AISI 8620 and 4140 were carried out to study the dry sliding wear behavior. The influence of different retained austenite level of 6% to 40% was evaluated while trying to eliminate other factors. Test results show that the effects of grain size and carburized steel species are negligible in dry sliding wear behavior. While the influence of retained austenite is negligible at 20 kg load condition, wear resistance is decreased at 40 kg load condition as the retained austenite level is increased from 6% to 30%. However, wear resistance is again increased above about 30% of retained austenite level at 40 kg load condition.     

Improved work-hardening ability and wear resistance of austenitic manganese steel under non-severe impact-loading conditions

An investigation into the work-hardening mechanism and the method of improving the work-hardening ability and the wear resistance of austenitic manganese steel, under non-severe impact-loading conditions, by means of transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction has been conducted in this project. The results indicate that the work-hardening effects result from increased dislocation density and stacking faults for the manganese steel with higher austenite stability, while they result from the combined effects of dislocation strengthening and strain-induced martensite for manganese steel with lower austenite stability. By comparison with Hadfield steel, the work-hardening ability and the wear resistance of the austenitic medium manganese steel increase by 60%–120% (the highest surface hardness up to 700 HV) and 50%–140% respectively, if the chemical compositions and technology are properly controlled, to obtain suitable austenite stability and secondary phase hard particles.     

Effects of vanadium and carbon on microstructures and abrasive wear resistance of high speed steel

The effects of vanadium and carbon on microstructures and abrasive wear resistance of high speed steel were studied. The results show that the microstructures are characterized by VC, M₇C₃ and Mo₂C in the martensite and austenite matrix. Typical morphologies of vanadium carbides are found to be spherical, lumpy, strip, and short rod. On the other hand, the vanadium carbides have three kinds of distributions, i.e. grain boundary, chrysanthemum-like, and homogeneous distributions. The abrasive wear resistance of high speed steel depends on the hardness and microstructures. When the hardness is lower than HRC58, the abrasive wear resistance of the high speed steel mainly depends on its hardness. But when the hardness is higher than HRC58, it mainly depends on the amount, morphology and distribution of VC in the matrix. Many spherical or lumpy VC carbides are obtained when vanadium and carbon content is up to 8.15–10.20 and 2.70–3.15%. The excellent abrasive wear resistance would be obtained if such VC carbides disperse uniformly in the hardened matrix of high speed steel after quenched at 1050 °C and tempered at 550 °C.     

Abrasive erosive wear of powder steels and cermets

Composite materials produced by powder metallurgy provide solutions to many engineering applications that require materials with high abrasive wear resistance. The actual wear behaviour of a material is associated with many external factors (abrasive particle size, velocity and angularity) and intrinsic material properties of wear (hardness, toughness, Young modulus, etc.). Hardness and toughness properties of wear resistant materials are highly dependent on the content of the reinforcing phase, its size and on the mechanical properties of the constituent phase. This study is focused on the analysis of the (AEW) abrasive erosive wear (solid particle erosion) using different wear devices and abrasives. Powder materials (steels, cermets and hardmetals) were studied. Wear resistance of materials and wear mechanisms were studied and compared with those of commercial steels. Based on the results of wear studies, surface degradation mechanisms are proposed. The following parameters characterizing the materials were found necessary in materials creation and selection: hardness (preferably in scale comparable with impact), type of structure (preferably hardmetal type) and wear parameters characterizing material removal at plastic deformation.     

Influence of the countermaterial on the dry sliding friction and wear behaviour of low temperature carburized AISI316L steel

Low temperature carburising (LTC) allows a significant hardness increase, with a consequent increase in wear resistance, without deteriorating corrosion behaviour. However, wear resistance strongly depends on contact conditions, therefore this work focuses on the dry sliding behaviour of LTC-treated AISI316L austenitic stainless steel against several countermaterials (AISI316L, LTC-treated AISI316L, hard chromium or plasma-sprayed Al₂O₃–TiO₂). LTC produced a hardened surface layer (C-supersaturated expanded austenite), which improved corrosion resistance in NaCl 3.5% and increased wear resistance, to an extent which depends on both normal load and countermaterial. The best results were obtained when at least one of the contacting bodies was LTC-treated, because this condition led to mild tribo-oxidative wear. However, LTC did not improve the behaviour in terms of friction.     

Particle size effect on abrasion resistance of mottled cast iron with different retained austenite contents

Effects of particle abrasive sizes on wear resistance of mottled cast iron with different retained austenite contents were studied. Abrasive wear tests using a pin test on alumina paper were carried out, using abrasive sizes between 16 μm and 192 μm. Retained austenite content of the matrix was determined by X-ray diffraction. The wear surface of samples and the alumina paper were examined by scanning electron microscopy for identifying the wear micromechanism. The results show that at lower abrasive sizes the mass loss was similar for the iron with different austenite contents. However, at higher abrasive sizes the samples with higher retained austenite content presented higher abrasion resistance. For lower abrasive sizes tested, samples with higher and lower retained austenite content both presented microcutting. On the other hand, the main wear micromechanism for the samples with higher retained austenite content and higher abrasive sizes was microploughing. The samples with lower retained austenite content presented microcutting and wedge formation at higher abrasive sizes. Higher abrasive size induced more microcutting in samples with lower retained austenite. The iron with lower retained austenite content presented wider grooves for the different abrasive sizes measured. SEM on the abrasive paper used on samples with higher retained austenite showed continuous and discontinuous microchips and the samples with lower retained austenite showed discontinuous microchips at 66 and 141 μm. This research demonstrates the relation between abrasive size, wear resistance, groove width and wear micromechanism for mottled cast iron with different retained austenite contents.     

Prolonging the service life of shot-blaster blades made from high chromium cast iron

By using chill technology in the sand mold and improved heat treatment technology, superior shot-blaster blades were made from high chromium cast iron near eutectic composition. When steel pellets are shot, the service life of this kind of blade was 670 h, about twice the 328 h of the GF blades (made in Switzerland). Under the condition of shooting white iron pellets, the service life of this kind of blade was 380 h, about 1.5 times the 245 h of the domestic high quality blades.It was shown by performing a worn surface analysis of discarded blades and by a trial run of pilot blades that the wear of blades when shooting steel pellets was mainly caused by spalling, and there was little microcutting. Decreasing the amount of retained austenite and improving the toughness of martensitic matrix increased the wear resistance of these blades effectively. The wear of blades was mainly caused by microcutting when shooting white iron pellets, but spalling also contributed to wear. Increasing the hardness and decreasing the amount of retained austenite were beneficial to wear resistance of these blades. Unidirectional carbide arrangement perpendicular to the wearing surface also improved wear resistance of both types of blades.     

Microstructure and abrasive wear in silicon nitride ceramics

It is well known that abrasive wear resistance is not strictly a materials property, but also depends upon the specific conditions of the wear environment. Nonetheless, characteristics of the ceramic microstructure do influence its hardness and fracture toughness and must, therefore, play an active role in determining how a ceramic will respond to the specific stress states imposed upon it by the wear environment. In this study, the ways in which composition and microstructure influence the abrasive wear behavior of six commercially-produced silicon nitride based ceramics are examined. Results indicate that microstructural parameters, such as matrix grain size and orientation, porosity, and grain boundary microstructure, and thermal expansion mismatch stresses created as the result of second phase formation, influence the wear rate through their effect on wear sheet formation and subsurface fracture. It is also noted that the potential impact of these variables on the wear rate may not be reflected in conventional fracture toughness measurements.     

Widerstand gegen abrasiven verschleiss und dynamische bruchzähigkeit weisser vanadingusseisen

The wear behaviour under abrasive sliding loading, the structure and dynamic fracture toughness of white cast iron containing (4 – 6)% V are considered in this paper. In wear systems containing hard abrasive particles (silicon carbide), the dynamic fracture toughness and wear resistance increase with increasing austenite content in the structure. In systems with less hard abrasive particles (e.g. flint, garnet) these alloys exhibit a combination of high fracture toughness and high wear resistance. The vanadium-alloyed white cast irons with a predominantly austenitic matrix show more favourable values with respect to both dynamic fracture toughness and wear resistance in comparison with a simultaneously tested chromium white cast iron.     

Development and characterization of a wear resistant bainite/martensite ductile iron by combination of alloying and a controlled cooling heat-treatment

In this paper, a bainite/martensite (B/M) dual-phase ductile iron was fabricated by combining alloying and a controlled cooling heat-treatment. The microstructure, the mechanical properties and the wear performance were investigated and discussed. The ductile iron containing 3.2–3.8 wt.% carbon was alloyed with 2.5–3.0 wt.% manganese and 2.5–3.0 wt.% silicon. In general, manganese is no more than 0.7 wt.% and silicon <2.5 wt.% in commercial grade lower-bainite ductile irons. So, manganese contained in the ductile iron in this work is several times higher, and silicon slightly higher. In order to control the phase transition in the ductile iron during the heat-treatment, its continuous cooling transformation (CCT) curve was determined. The controlled cooling heat-treatment process was determined according to the CCT curve, which included three stages. The first stage was water quenching of the sample rapidly from the austenization temperature to a temperature below 350°C in a few minutes. The second stage was heat preservation of the sample from the spraying end temperature to 200°C in 2 h. The last stage was air cooling of the sample from 200°C to RT. According to the analysis using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the X-ray diffraction (XRD), the matrix of the ductile iron had a microstructure of bainite, martensite and a little retained austenite. The hardness and impact toughness of the heat-treated ductile iron were HRC 51.5 and 21.7 J/cm², respectively. The high values of the hardness and toughness were attributed to (1) the refined structure, (2) the presence of B/M dual-phase and (3) the presence of retained austenite. The impact abrasive wear resistance of the B/M ductile iron was observed to be comparable with that of a high chrome cast iron, and twice that of Mn13 steel.     

Effect of cryogenic treatment on the matrix structure and abrasion resistance of white cast iron subjected to destabilization treatment

Effect of deep cryogenic treatment on the matrix structure and abrasion resistance of high chromium cast iron subjected to destabilization heat treatment has been investigated in this paper. The results show that, during the cryogenic treatment, the secondary carbides precipitate in austenite, which promote the transformation of retained austenite to martensite. The cryogenic treated alloys produced superior hardness and wear resistance (β) to the alloys without cryogenic treatment. When the bulk hardness and wear resistance (β) reach the maximum, there is still about 13% retained austenite in alloys. Cryogenic treatment cannot make retained austenite transform to martensite completely.     

Influence of varied cryotreatment on the wear behavior of AISI D2 steel

Exploration of the benefit of cryotreatment for achieving improvement in wear resistance of die/tool steel is a topic of current research interest. A series of wear tests has been carried out on AISI D2 steel samples subjected to cryotreatment at 77 K for different durations. The wear rates at different loads and sliding velocities, morphologies of the worn-out surfaces and the characteristics of the wear debris have been systematically examined to assess the possible critical duration of cryotreatment to achieve the best wear resistance property. The wear experiments have been supplemented by detailed microstructural investigations with an emphasis to reveal the amount of retained austenite and the characteristics of the secondary carbide particles apart from hardness evaluation. The results unambiguously establish that ‘critical time duration’ exists for achieving the best wear resistance for AISI D2 steel through cryotreatment. This has been explained by the nature of precipitation of fine carbide particles and their possible growth, which govern the wear resistance of the material. Categorization of the secondary carbides to support this explanation is a new approach. The revelation of the wear mechanisms under different wear conditions is an integral part of this work.     

A comparative study of the wear behaviour of sintered and laser surface melted AISI M42 high speed steel diluted with iron

Powders of AISI M42 high-speed steel (HSS) were blended with different proportions of water-atomised iron powders. The powders were subsequently submitted to uniaxial pressing and then divided in three lots. The first was submitted to sintering, the second was submitted to sintering plus laser surface melting (LSM) and the third was submitted to sintering plus LSM plus double tempering at the secondary hardening peak temperature of M42 HSS. The objective of this procedure was to evaluate the processing route that leads to reduced porosity in AISI M42 HSS and to higher abrasive wear resistance. Therefore the samples, with different chemical compositions and microstructures, were submitted to a detailed microstructural characterisation followed by microscale hardness and abrasive wear tests. It was observed that LSM leads to almost complete elimination of residual porosity and to the dissolution of large brittle carbides that are present in the as-sintered samples, leading to a homogeneous and extremely fine microstructure. This microstructure is formed of saturated plate martensite and a small proportion of retained austenite. The double tempering treatment, carried out in the laser surface melted samples samples, leads to the elimination of retained austenite and to a decrease of the lattice parameters of martensite due to the precipitation of thin carbides within martensite. As a result, while the hardness of the material in the sintered condition is between 245 and 625 HV (depending on the proportion of dilution with iron), after LSM the hardness is higher than 820 HV in all the samples. Surprisingly, the abrasive wear resistance of the laser melted and of the laser melted and tempered samples is lower than that of the as-sintered ones. Observation of the wear craters by scanning electron microscopy shows that this result is due to the different wear mechanisms acting on the samples processed by different routes.     

Sliding wear behavior of Fe-based bulk metallic glass at high temperature

In the past decade Fe-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have attracted increasing attention due to their beneficial properties, including high glass forming ability (GFA), high strength and hardness and high fracture toughness in both fundamental science and engineering application. Most research using these materials has been conducted at room temperature environment, and research that assesses their behavior especially at high temperature has been scarce. We present the results of high temperature effect on the friction and wear behavior of Fe-based bulk metallic glass (BMG), and we tested that this material may satisfy wear and oxidation resistance at high temperature as well as to explore the high temperature wear mechanism of the Fe-based BMG. The dry sliding tribological behaviors of Febased BMG against Si₃N₄ ceramic were conducted with a pin-on-disc friction and wear tribometer. The morphology of the worn surfaces of Fe-based BMG was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the chemical composition characterized with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to observe the wear characteristics and investigate the wear mechanisms. The overall average friction coefficient value generally decreased with increasing temperature, and the glass transition and the formation of protective oxide film played an important role in the tribological behavior of BMG. The wear resistance of Fe-based BMG was not only from their hardness but also from the formation protective oxide layer. Analysis of the worn surface revealed abrasion, plastic deformation and oxidation during sliding test.     

Influence of microstructure on erosion resistance of steels

Erosive wear due to solid particle impingement is a very intensive degradation process of surface layers of metallic materials. Erosion resistance is influenced by the working conditions (impact angle, impact velocity of solid particles, size, shape, hardness and amount of impinging particles) and the parameters of the worn material like hardness and microstructure. In our experiments some structural and tool steels were tested by slurry with SiO₂ particles at a flow velocity of 20 m/s. The microstructures of the tested steels were modified in a broad range by changing the conditions of their heat treatment. Increasing pearlite share in the structure of annealed carbon and low-alloyed steels has a positive effect on their erosion resistance. The growing carbon content in the tested hardened steels increases their erosion resistance. Maximum erosion resistance was found in hardened chromium ledeburite steel. Hardened high-speed steel HS 11-0-4 in spite of its high hardness has lower erosion resistance than ledeburitic chomium steels. An increasing amount of retained austenite and decreasing carbide and martensite shares with growing quenching temperature of the tested ledeburitic chromium steels leads to the reduction of their erosion resistance.     

Effect of heat treatment on wear behavior of HVOF thermally sprayed WC-Co coatings

A WC-17Co coating was deposited onto ST37 mild steel substrate using HVOF spray technique and then heat treated at different temperatures in a vacuum chamber. The coatings were then evaluated in the as sprayed and heat treated conditions. Inspections by SEM and phase analysis by XRD indicated that some brittle eta (η) phases were produced at high temperature heat treatments. Generation of these phases increased the coating's hardness and decreased fracture toughness of the coating. Tribological properties were studied under dry condition by using pin on disc machine and diamond metal matrix composite disc as counterface. Wear test results showed that as sprayed deposit had the best wear resistance and its wear mechanism was sharp cutting abrasion. The weight loss in heat treated samples increased by increasing heat treatment temperature and the wear mechanisms gradually changed from cutting to gouging abrasion.