Investigation of the Effect of Tungsten Substitution on Microstructure and Abrasive Wear Performance of In Situ VC-Reinforced High-Manganese Austenitic Steel Matrix Composite

Particulate VC-reinforced high-manganese austenitic steel matrix composites with different vanadium and tungsten contents were synthesized by conventional alloying and casting route. Microstructural characterizations showed that the composites processed by in situ precipitation of the reinforcements were composed of V₈C₇ particulates distributed in an austenitic matrix. It was observed that addition of tungsten to austenite increases work-hardening rate of subsurface layer during pin-on disk wear test. The maximum abrasive wear resistance was achieved at tungsten content equal to 2 wt pct. However, excessive addition of tungsten promoted the formation of W₃C phase and reduced the abrasive wear resistance because of decrease in distribution homogeneity and volume fraction of the reinforcing VC particles.