Macroscopic and nanoscale investigation of the enhanced wear properties of medium-Mn steel processed via room-temperature quenching and partitioning

Abstract

High-manganese austenitic and high hardness martensitic steels are widely used in wear-related applications. However, their abrasive wear performance is unsatisfactory because of the insufficient twinning induced plasticity effect of the former and the weak strain hardening and low crack resistance during wear of the latter. Here, novel wear-resistant steels were developed via alloy design and simple room-temperature quenching and partitioning (RT-Q&P) of medium Mn steels (0.3C–10Mn and 0.3C–10Mn-0.25V). Their microstructure and sliding abrasive wear behavior were compared to those of conventional Hardox400 and Hadfield steels. The two medium-Mn steels had better wear properties than conventional wear-resistant steels. Moreover, the V-containing steel with a multiphase microstructure of tempered martensite, retained austenite, and nano-vanadium carbide precipitates, possessed 2.98 and 3.45 times higher abrasive wear resistance than the Hardox400 and Hadfield steels, respectively. Besides the stimulated transformation-induced-plasticity effect in RT-Q&P steels, the enhanced abrasive wear resistance of V-containing steel was attributed to microstructural refinement and improved strain hardening during wear imparted by V element. The main wear mechanism of RT-Q&P wear-resistant steels was cutting, while it was grooves and pits for Hadfield steel, and peeling pits and delamination for Hardox400 steel. This study can guide the design of structural materials with excellent wear resistance through multiphase microstructural and nano-precipitate regulation to overcome the wear challenges of components.