Tribological Study of Fe–Cr Alloys for Mechanical Refinement in a Corn Stover Biomass Environment

Abstract

The tribological behavior of three Fe–Cr alloys with Cr contents ranging from ~12 to 16 wt.% as well as low-alloy high-carbon 52100 steel were investigated using pin-on-disk wear testing. Wear tests were performed in both open atmospheric (dry) and biomass environments (wet). Delamination and abrasion were observed to be the dominant wear regimes following dry wear tests. For wet testing, adhesion and pitting corrosion were determined to be the primary wear mechanisms in the Fe–Cr alloys while adhesion and delamination/cracking were identified as the primary wear mechanisms in the 52100 steel. The 440C stainless steel and 52100 steel specimens exhibited the lowest wear volume following dry (7.58 ± 0.52 mm3 and 0.78 ± 0.05 mm3, respectively) and wet wear testing (0.11 ± 0.06 mm3 and 0.12 ± 0.09 mm3, respectively); however, these specimens exhibited the most significant corrosion damage. The 410 stainless steel specimen exhibited the best resistance to corrosion after wear testing in the deacetylated and disc-refined corn stover slurry and had measured wear volumes after dry and wet wear testing of 6.84 ± 0.88 mm3 and 0.33 ± 0.12 mm3, respectively. The worst wear resistance was observed by the 420 stainless steel specimen after both dry and wet wear testing.