Effect of Cold Forging on Wear Resistance of High Carbon Steel for Dolomite Hammer Mill

Abstract

Hammer mill machine widely use during the process of material reduction in the dolomite industry. The dolomite stone is crushed to the desired shape by the repeated impact of the hammer or crusher. However, since the dolomite stone is milled inside the grinding machine with the help of crusher, it is still challenging because of variety of problem such as the crusher for dolomite hammer mill needs to be changed frequently and no exact data to predict the time taken for the crusher to start wear and how long the crusher can be used before crusher become to wear. In this study, the authors attempt to investigate the effect of cold forging on the wear resistance of high carbon steel for dolomite hammer mill. Specimens of the high carbon steel were prepared for the purpose of this study as per ASTM D695. Cold forging process was conducted using the smith forging method at targeted 3% cold work. Rockwell hardness tester was used to measure the hardness of the specimen. The prototype of the hammer mill machine was used to measure the wear rate to mimic the working principle of the actual hammer mill machine used in the dolomite mining industry. The microstructural analysis was done using a digital metallurgical microscope. The hardness was found to increase from 28.20 HRA to 29.74 HRA for the high carbon steel after conducting the cold forging process. The cold forging process can help to improve the mechanical properties of the material by improving the strength of the material. Moreover, the wear rate of high carbon steel was found to decrease with an increase in hardness. The cold forging process is found to have a significant effect on the hardness and wear rate of high carbon steel. The result obtained in this study is comparable with the previously reported study.