Influence of <i>In Situ</i> Formed Tribolayer on Abrasive Wear Reduction

Abstract

High temperatures (HT) are essential for many production methods. When operating with abrasives from natural sources, e.g. ores, abrasive wear is limiting the lifetime of core components. Material degradation and wear is accelerated in HT environments; wear protective solutions are necessary to minimize maintenance efforts. Especially, cost efficient solutions are needed in the industry, thereto in this research different Fe-based materials with prospective good HT wear pro­perties were chosen: i) austenitic stainless steel, ii) martensitic hot work tool steel, iii) carbide-rich ferrite MMC (metal matrix composite) and iv) complex alloyed hardfacing MMC. The materials were investigated by conducting high stress abrasion tests at temperatures up to 700°C. Wear rates were calculated and wear reducing effects by formation of mechanically mixed layers (MML) were studied. Two different technical approaches were carried out: SEM investigation of the surface coverage by abrasive embedding and optical microscopy analysis on cross-sections to determine the penetration depth of the abrasives. All materials except the hardfacing showed significant MML formation. Results showed increased coverage and penetration depth with ascending temperature. A wear reducing effect predominantly at HT is suspected, as MML forming materials showed shallower wear increase with temperature compared to the hardfacing.