Friction and wear behaviour of sintered steels submitted to sliding and abrasion tests

Fe–C–Mo and Fe–C–Cr steels were sintered by PM processes carried out using different values of temperature and pressure, leading to different microstructures and density values. Flat specimens were submitted to tribological tests in order to evaluate their behaviour under both dry sliding and abrasive wear conditions. A flat-on-cylinder tribometer was used for the sliding tests, while a micro-scale ball cratering device was used for the abrasion tests. The dry sliding wear resistance of the PM steels was mainly influenced by the composition and sintering conditions. In this regard, the best behavior was observed for the more hardenable Fe–C–Mo steels with higher Mo content, sintered under conditions giving rise to bainitic microstructures. A determining role was also played by the porosity content and pore shape: reduction in porosity (obtained by increasing the sintering temperature and the compacting pressure), as well as an increase in pore roundness, led to a significant improvement in the resistance to sliding wear. A mild oxidative wear regime were observed for all the sintered steels under relatively low values of the applied load, while an increase of the applied load led to a delamination wear regime. The resistance to abrasive wear was low for all the tested steels, irrespective of composition and sintering cycle.