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.     

Ball-cratering abrasion tests of high-Cr white cast irons

The application of a ball-cratering method to test three-body abrasive wear of bulk materials in the presence of large abrasive particles has been investigated. Three high-Cr white cast irons (WCIs) with different material properties were used as wear samples. Abrasive slurries contained two types of abrasive particles, silica sand and crushed quartz. Silica sand and crushed quartz particles have similar chemical composition and hardness but differ in sharpness. Wear rates of WCI samples were determined and the worn surfaces were examined by optical microscopy, SEM and Talysurf profilometry.It was found that the ball-cratering test can differentiate between the wear resistances of materials with similar properties. The wear resistance of WCIs in the presence of silica sand increased with increasing the hardness of the wear sample and decreasing the size of carbides in the microstructure. Smaller silica sand particles caused less wear damage than larger silica sand particles, even though the smaller particles were slightly sharper than the larger ones. When silica sand and quartz particles of the same size were used, the angular quartz particles caused much higher wear than the rounded silica sand particles. Surface morphologies of the wear craters on the WCI samples were examined in an SEM and then compared with the morphologies of the worn surfaces from slurry pumps. It was found that the silica sand particles generated surface morphologies similar to those found in the worn slurry pumps. In these surfaces the matrix was preferentially worn out and hard carbides were protruding. Wear surface morphologies produced by the angular quartz particles were different. They consisted of numerous superimposed indents and the microstructure phases were not distinguishable. This indicates that the type of abrasive particles used in ball-cratering testing significantly affects the test outcomes in terms of wear rates and wear surface morphology.     

Abrasive wear resistance of some commercial abrasion resistant steels evaluated by laboratory test methods

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the abrasive wear resistance of some potential abrasion resistant steels exposed to different types of abrasive wear contact conditions typical of mining and transportation applications. The steels investigated, include a ferritic stainless steel, a medium alloyed ferritic carbon steel and a medium alloyed martensitic carbon steel.The abrasive wear resistance of the steels was evaluated using two different laboratory test methods, i.e. pin-on-disc testing and paddle wear testing that expose the materials to sliding abrasion and impact abrasion, respectively. All tests were performed under dry conditions in air at room temperature. In order to evaluate the tribological response of the different steels post-test characterization of the worn surfaces were performed using optical surface profilometry, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Besides, characterization of the wear induced sub-surface microstructure was performed using optical microscopy.The results show that depending on the abrasive conditions a combination of high hardness and toughness (fracture strain) is of importance in order to obtain a high wear resistance. In the pin-on-disc test (i.e. in sliding abrasion) these properties seem to be controlled by the as-rolled microstructure of the steels although a thin triboinduced sub-surface layer (5–10 μm in thickness) may influence the results. In contrast, in the paddle wear test (i.e. in impact abrasion), resulting in higher forces acting perpendicular to the surface by impacting stones, these properties are definitely controlled by the properties of the active sub-surface layer which also contains small imbedded stone fragments.     

Dry sliding wear in injection molded 17-4 PH stainless steel powder with nickel boride additions

Dry sliding wear behavior of injection molded 17-4 PH stainless steel powder with nickel boride additions has been studied on a pin-on-disc wear tester using an alloy steel pin and disc of hardness 63 HRC. The PIM alloys in the as sintered as well as in the precipitate-hardened conditions were investigated for their wear behavior. Wear rate was found to be initially decreased with the increasing nickel boride amount. Optical microscopy and XRD analysis were preformed to characterize the basic microstructures for all samples. SEM observations of the worn surfaces revealed plastics deformations with delamination of surface layers by subsurface cracks as the mechanism in the as sintered and precipitate-hardened conditions.     

介稳奥氏体锰钢耐冲击磨粒磨损性能及磨面组织

利用冲击磨粒磨损试验结合扫描电镜、透射电镜和穆斯堡尔谱等分析手段研究了介稳奥氏体锰钢的耐磨性和磨损机制。结果表明,介稳奥氏体锰钢在某一冲击功下具有最佳耐磨性。在磨损过程中磨面诱发生产两类马氏体,无碳马氏体和合金马氏体。最耐磨时的磨面组织为合金奥氏体和无碳马氏体的混合组织。     

Pattern abrasion of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene: Microstructure reconstruction of worn surface

The friction and wear behavior of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) sliding against bearing steel (AISI 52100) in a ring-on-block contact mode under the lubrication of aqueous solution of 3.5% NaCl was evaluated. The worn polymer surfaces were analyzed by means of three dimensional profiling, atomic force microscopy, Polarized Raman microanalysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and nanoindentation testing. It was found that unusual wavelike abrasion patterns were formed on the worn surface of UHMWPE under properly selected sliding conditions. In the presence of plowing effect, the molecular chains of UHMWPE and short-rod like microcrystalline grains of abrasion pattern were both further oriented along the plowing direction and became tiny and dense owing to microstructure reconstruction. Resultant microstructurally reconstructed worn surface of UHMWPE had a higher nanoindentation hardness and modulus as well as increased wear resistance.     

Wear resistance of steels under wet-abrasive erosion conditions

The wear resistance of 22 different steels with various heat treatments in a silica sand slurry was studied. Two types of slurry were used, a fresh sharp grain slurry, and a worn dull grain slurry.In the sharp grain slurry the wear resistance increased with the hardness of the steel. In the dull grain slurry the wear resistance was divided into two major groups. For the steels containing little or no chromium the wear resistance decreased slightly with an increase in the hardness of the steel. For steels with a higher chromium content the wear resistance was three times that of the steels with a low chromium content. The latter behaviour was thought to be the result of the abrasives removing only the products of corrosion and not the steel substrate.The role of corrosion was confirmed by testing three steels in the two types of slurry test, with and without a corrosion inhibitor.Hadfield manganese steel has poor wear resistance in both the sharp and the dull grain slurry. It is actually slightly worse in the dull grain slurry.     

Tribological Behavior of New Martensitic Stainless Steels Using Scratch and Dry Wear Test

This paper focuses on the tribological characterization of new martensitic stainless steels by two different tribological methods (scratch and dry wear tests) and their comparison to the austenitic standard stainless steel AISI 316L. The scratch test allows obtaining critical loads, scratch friction coefficients, scratch hardness and specific scratch wear rate, and the dry wear test to quantify wear volumes. The damage has been studied by ex situ scanning electron microscopy. Wear resistance was related to the hardness and the microstructure of the studied materials, where martensitic stainless steels exhibit higher scratch wear resistance than the austenitic one, but higher hardness of the martensitic alloys did not give better scratch resistance when comparing with themselves. It has been proved it is possible to evaluate the scratch wear resistance of bulk stainless steels using scratch test. The austenitic material presented lower wear volume than the martensitic ones after the dry wear test due to phase transformation and the hardening during sliding.     

Effect of Sintering Temperature and Atmosphere on Nonlubricated Sliding Wear of Nano-Yttria-Dispersed and Yttria-Free Duplex and Ferritic Stainless Steel Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy

The nonlubricated sliding wear behavior of nano-yttria-dispersed and yttria-free duplex and ferritic stainless steel against a diamond tip was studied. The stainless steel samples were fabricated by a conventional powder metallurgy route in which nano-yttria-dispersed and yttria-free duplex and ferritic stainless steel powders were cold compacted and then conventionally sintered at either 1000, 1200, or 1400°C in an argon atmosphere. For comparison, another set of samples was sintered at 1000°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The wear behavior of sintered stainless steel samples against a diamond indenter was investigated using a pin-on-disc apparatus at 10 and 20 N loads and at a constant speed of 0.0041 m/s. It is proposed that yttria-dispersed stainless steels showed higher wear resistance compared to yttria-free stainless steel due to their improved hardness and density. Stainless steel sintered in a nitrogen atmosphere exhibited better wear resistance than those sintered in an argon atmosphere due to the formation of hard and brittle Cr₂N. The wear mechanisms of stainless steels against diamond were found to be mainly abrasive and oxidative. Semiquantitative analysis of the worn surfaces and wear debris confirmed the occurrence of oxidation processes during wear.     

Wear and tribocorrosion behaviour of 304L stainless steel welds

The influence of the microstructures of the base metal and weld metals on the wear and tribocorrosion properties of 304L stainless steel (SS) welds prepared by Manual Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (M-GTAW) and Activated Flux Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (A-GTAW) processes are reported. Increase in sliding speed increased both friction forces as well as wear rate. Higher hardness in M-GTAW weld metal resulted in increased wear resistance than A-GTAW weld metal and base metal. The inferior wear resistance of the base metal was due to the strain hardening behaviour under sliding condition. The polarization curves showed increase in passive current density under sliding condition. The applied potential was found to influence the tribocorrosion resistance of the material. Under tribocorrosion condition, the total material loss was higher in base metal followed by A-GTAW weld metal and M-GTAW weld metal. Characterization of worn surface by SEM indicated a mixed wear mechanism of abrasive and adhesive wear. The worn surface appeared relatively smoother in nitric acid medium than in dry condition. The influence of microstructure affecting the hardness, wear and tribocorrosion resistance of the base metal and weld metals of 304L SS is discussed.     

Plasma transferred arc surface modification of atmospheric plasma sprayed ceramic coatings

In this study, a 90MnCrV8 steel surface was coated with aluminum oxide and chromium oxide powders through the Atmospheric plasma spray (APS) and Plasma transferred arc (PTA) methods. The effects of PTA surface melting on the microstructure, hardness, and wear behavior were investigated. The microstructures of plasma-sprayed and modified layers were characterized by Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The dry-sliding wear properties of the samples were determined through the ball-on-disk wear test method. Voids, cracks, and nonhomogeneous regions were observed in the microstructure of the APS ceramic-coated surface. These microstructure defects were eliminated by the PTA welding process. The microhardness of the samples was increased. Significant reductions in wear rate were observed after the PTA surface modification. The wear resistance of ceramic coatings increased 7 to 12 times compared to that of the substrate material.

     

等离子表面钼铬共渗制备强化层的研究

利用辉光离子渗金属技术在Q235钢表面进行钼铬共渗，随后进行渗碳淬火、深冷处理及回火复合处理，对渗层组织、成分、硬度和摩擦磨损性能进行了分析。结果表明：渗层化学成分接近钼系高速钢；渗层中的碳化物细小、均匀、弥散，没有粗大的共晶莱氏体组织；经深冷2h处理试样表面硬度达到1600HV，明显高于未经深冷处理试样的表面硬度；经不同时间深冷处理试样的滑动摩擦因数基本相同，但比未经深冷处理的试样降低约15％，其相对耐磨性分另q是未渗金属试样的2．10倍和3．59倍。     

Assessment of the erosion resistance of steels used for slurry handling and transport in mineral processing applications

The wear environment of steels used for containing, transporting and processing erosive mineral slurries is often such that fluid borne particles form a layer moving at high speed across the wearing surface. Information on the performance ranking of such materials is limited, particularly with respect to the influence of steel hardness and microstructure on the resistance to erosion. This is particularly important for the oil sands industry of Northern Alberta where handling and processing of essentially silica-based solids results in extremely severe wear conditions. This paper presents slurry erosion data obtained on 11 commercially available wear resistant plate and pipeline steels with hardness values up to 750 HV. These data were obtained using a Coriolis erosion tester operated at 5000 rpm with an aqueous slurry containing 10 wt.% of 200–300 μm silica sand particles.

The Coriolis erosion tester was selected because it provides a low-angle scouring action that simulates the erosive conditions encountered in oil sands and tailings pipeline transport and in some related processing operations. Results show that this test method is able to discriminate clearly between the erosion resistance of these steels, expressed in terms of specific energy (the energy necessary to remove unit volume of test material), with the most erosion resistant steel being more than five times superior to the least resistant. A graphical relation between steel hardness and erosion resistance is given. A comparison is also made between slurry erosion data and the performance of the materials in the ASTM G65 dry sand rubber wheel (DSRW) sliding abrasion test. Comments on the influence of the macro- and microstructures of the steels on their wear behaviour are included.     

GCr15及G20CrNi2Mo轴承钢高温润滑条件下摩擦磨损性能

为了探究轴承钢在高温润滑条件下的摩擦磨损性能,采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、洛氏硬度计等对GCr15高碳轴承钢和G20CrNi2Mo渗碳轴承钢组织、物相及硬度进行了表征,利用QG-700型气氛高温摩擦磨损试验机研究轴承钢材料不同条件下的高温润滑摩擦磨损性能,并分析其磨损机制.结果表明:2种轴承钢...     

Influence of heat and thermochemical treatment on abrasion resistance of structural and tool steels

Abrasive wear is responsible for intensive degradation of machine parts or tools. This process starts as an interaction between hard, mostly mineral, particles and the working surface. Methods of increasing the lifetime are based on application of abrasion resistant materials or creation of hard, wear-resistant surface layers or coatings on the surfaces of machine parts or tools. Carbon and low-alloy steels with different types of thermochemical treatment (case hardening, nitriding) are used in cases of low abrasion. Another method of increasing lifetime is the application of ledeburitic steels. The wear resistance of these steels depends on their chemical composition and heat treatment. The results of laboratory tests of thermochemically treated steels, heat-treated ledeburitic chromium steels and high-speed steels show the effect of the microstructure of these steels on their abrasion resistance. Abrasion resistance of carburized low-alloy steels is on the same level as in high-carbon structural and tool steels. In ledeburitic chromium steel maximum abrasion resistance was achieved by quenching from 1100 °C whilst in ledeburitic chromium–vanadium steel the optimum quenching temperature was 1150 °C. Growing abrasion resistance was caused by increasing amounts of retained austenite.     

Tribological behaviour of carbide-free bainitic steel under dry rolling/sliding conditions

The dry rolling/sliding wear behaviour of Si alloyed carbide free bainitic steel austempered at different temperatures and sliding distances has been evaluated. 60SiCr7 spring steel samples were austempered in a salt bath maintained at 250, 300 and 350 °C respectively for 1 h. Rolling with 5% sliding wear tests were performed using self mated discs for three different test cycles, namely 6000, 18,000 and 30,000 cycles. The aim was to study the wear performance of the 60SiCr7 steel with a carbide-free microstructure containing different amounts of retained austenite. An in-depth microstructural characterization has been carried out before and after the wear tests in order to link the wear behaviour to the microstructure of each sample. The wear resistance has been expressed by means of the specific wear calculated from the mass loss after the tests. The worn surfaces were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Microhardness profiles were also obtained in order to analyse strain-hardening effects beneath the contact surfaces. The results indicate that the material with highest hardness—the one austempered at 250 °C—exhibited the lowest wear rate in every case. It was also observed that the hardness increment and thickness of the hardened layer increases with increasing the austempering temperature and number of test cycles. Finally, the results appear to indicate that the initial roughness of the samples has no major effect in the wear rate of the samples above 2500 cycles. The higher wear performance of the sample austempered at 250 °C has been attributed to its superior mechanical properties provided by its finer microstructure. It has been evidenced that all samples undergo the TRIP phenomenon since, after wear; no retained austenite could be detected by XRD.     

模具钢表面盐浴渗钛层的制备及性能研究

采用盐浴法在Cr12Mo V冷作模具钢表面进行渗钛处理,研究了不同温度和时间对渗层厚度的影响。通过金相显微镜、扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪、显微硬度测试仪和旋转摩擦试验仪分析了渗层的显微形貌、相结构、表断面硬度和耐磨性能。结果表明:通过配方优选,在适宜的渗入温度(1000℃)和时间(6h)下,可在模具钢表面形成致密、厚度约13μm的渗钛层,相组成主要为Ti C,渗层具有较高的表面硬度(约2789HV0.3)。室温干摩擦试验表明,与基体相比,相渗层试样的磨损量降低约17倍,平均摩擦系数为0.4054,仅为基体的70.6%,说明模具钢盐浴渗钛处理后具有较佳的耐磨减摩性能。     

Ductility and the abrasive wear resistance of hot work die steels

Two-body abrasive resistance has been determined as a function of tempering temperature for a conventional hot work die steel and two experimental hot work die steels. After tempering in the secondary hardening range both experimental steels exhibit abrasive wear resistance comparable with or superior to that of the conventional die steel. In addition, the abrasive wear behavior of the three steels has been assessed using an approach suggested by one of the authors which emphasizes the role of ductility in determining abrasive wear resistance. As suggested by that approach, the product of the wear ratio and the bulk hardness tends to decrease with increasing tensile strain to fracture.     

Wear and corrosion wear of medium carbon steel and 304 stainless steel

Wear and corrosive wear involve mechanical and chemical mechanisms and the combination of these mechanisms often results in significant mutual effects. In this paper, tribological behavior, X-ray peak broadening, and microstructure changes of carbon steel AISI 1045 and stainless steel AISI 304 samples under simultaneous wear and corrosion were investigated and the results were compared with those obtained from dry wear tests. 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution was used as the corrosion agent and a pin-on-disk tribometer was employed to perform wear and corrosive wear tests.X-ray diffraction measurements have shown that by increasing the applied load, the worn surfaces of carbon steel samples reached a constant strain at which fracture and wear occurred. Whereas in 304 stainless steel samples, by increasing the applied load, broadening of X-ray diffraction peaks was decreased.Wear tests of carbon steel and stainless steel samples have shown smaller weight losses and lower friction coefficient in the presence of corrosive environment. Study of worn surfaces suggested that depending on wear environment and applied load, different features of wear mechanisms were involved.     

金属陶瓷粒子添加剂对摩擦副表面的影响

用MMW-1型销盘式摩擦磨损试验机,对含有金属陶瓷添加剂润滑油对气缸套-活塞环摩擦学特性的影响进行了模拟试验研究;用表面粗糙度仪测量了缸套试样的表面粗糙度;用原子力显微镜对缸套试样表面的微观形貌和摩擦力形貌进行了测试;用韦氏硬度仪测量了缸套试样的表面硬度变化。研究结果表明,气缸套试样表面在这种添加剂作用下,其表面粗糙度和峰高都大幅度降低,展现了金属陶瓷粒子良好的自修复能力,并且这种能力随载荷的增大而增强。表面硬度分析结果也表明,添加剂粒子与摩擦表面的作用也与载荷有关。