Investigation of Wear Mechanism in Quenched and Tempered Medium Carbon-High Chromium Martensitic Steel Using Dry Sand/Rubber Wheel

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of quenching and tempering temperatures on the microstructure, mechanical properties and the wear characteristics of medium carbon-high chromium wear resistant steel. In addition, the dominant wear mechanisms were studied. For this purpose, austenitizing and tempering temperatures were selected in the ranges of 900- 1000 °C and 300- 500 °C, respectively. Mechanical properties were evaluated through hardness and impact tests as well as wear test (by dry sand/rubber wheel apparatus). Microstructure and wear and fracture surface appearances were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the measurement of retained austenite was done through X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The obtained results revealed that the best wear properties were achieved by tempering at 450 °C due to the reduction of tendency to micro-cracking, the decrease in internal stresses, and the improvement of the impact energy. Observing the wear surfaces showed that the wear mechanism for the specimen tempered at 400 °C was a combination of abrasive, adhesive and fatigue wear. However, abrasive wear was the only active wear mechanism for the specimen tempered at 450 °C.