Effect of carbonitride precipitates on the abrasive wear behaviour of hardfacing alloy

Abstract

Hardfacing alloy of martensitic stainless steel expect higher abradability to be achieved through the addition of nitrogen being provided by the fine scale precipitation of complex carbonitride particles. Niobium and titanium as the most effective carbonitride alloying elements were added in the Fe–Cr13–Mn–N hardfacing alloy to get carbonitride precipitates. Carbonitride was systematically studied by optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and energy spectrum analysis. Abrasive wear resistance of hardfacing alloy in as-welded and heat-treated conditions was tested by using the belt abrasion test apparatus where the samples slide against the abrasive belt. It is found that carbonitride particles in the hardfacing alloy are complex of Cr, Ti and Nb distributing on the grain boundary or matrix of the hardfacing alloy with different number and size in as-welded and heat-treated conditions. A large number of carbonitrides can be precipitated with very fine size (nanoscale) after heat treatment. As a result, the homogeneous distribution of very fine carbonitride particles can significantly improve the grain-abrasion wear-resisting property of the hardfacing alloy, and the mass loss is plastic deformation with minimum depth of grooving by abrasive particles and fine delamination.