A study on correlating microstructural features with abrasion resistance of a high strength low alloy steel

Abstract

Scratch tests were carried out in order to investigate correlations of the scratch resistance, representing the abrasion resistance to a certain extent, with various microstructural features as well as different resulting hardness of a high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel. The HSLA steel was subjected to selected heat treatment cycles in order to produce different microstructural combinations, thereby obtaining various abrasion resistance. Results of scratch tests suggested that a high hardness alone cannot guarantee a high scratch (abrasion) resistance, and the microstructural features play a vital role in determining the abrasion resistance. More specifically, it was shown that a dual phase (ferrite plus martensite) microstructure with a relatively low hardness possesses a better abrasion resistance than a full martensite with a higher hardness. Moreover, observations of scratch scars revealed different features of scar surface and debris: the dual phase microstructure results in a smooth scar surface and with plate debris, while a full martensite leads to a relatively coarse scar surface with sharp debris, which is very harmful to the abrasion resistance due to its secondary damage to the surface. Furthermore, results suggested the scratch test can well mimic the nature of abrasion wear and hence provide fast, reproducible, and quantitative information on abrasion resistance of different microstructures