Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
DOI 10.1007/s11249-010-9634-0
ORIGINAL PAPER
The Influence of the Matrix Microstructure on Abrasive Wear
Resistance of Heat-Treated Fe–32Cr–4.5C wt% Hardfacing Alloy
M. Kazemipour • H. Shokrollahi • Sh. Sharafi
Received: 27 February 2010 / Accepted: 2 June 2010 / Published online: 17 June 2010
Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract The abrasion wear resistance of Fe–32Cr–4.5C
wt% hardfacing alloy was investigated as a function of
matrix microstructure. In this study, the alloy was depos-
ited on ASTM A36 carbon steel plates by the shielded
metal arc welding (SMAW) process and the as-welded
matrix microstructure was changed into ferrite, martensite,
and tempered martensite by heat treatment processes. The
Pin-on-disk test results show that under low (5 N) and high
(20 N) load conditions, the wear resistance behavior of the
as-welded matrix sample is 20 and 15% higher, respec-
tively, than the martensitic matrix sample, although the
bulk hardness of the as-welded matrix is 5% lower. The
ferritic matrix sample has the poorest wear resistance
behavior which is less than half of that of the as-welded
matrix one. Micro-ploughing, micro-cutting, and micro-
cracking are recognized as the micro-mechanisms in the
material removal in which the proportion of micro-
ploughing mechanism increased by increasing matrix
toughness.
Keywords Weld overlay coating
Two-body abrasive
wear
Wear mechanisms
Microhardness
M. Kazemipour
Sh. Sharafi
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Shahid
Bahonar University of Kerman, P.O. Box No. 76135-133,
Kerman, Iran
e-mail: Kazemy1360@gmail.com
H. Shokrollahi (&)
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shiraz
University of Technology, P.O. Box No. 71555-313, Shiraz, Iran
e-mail: shokrollahi@sutech.ac.ir
1 Introduction
The weld deposition of hardfacing alloys is commonly
employed in industry to increase the service life of compo-
nents subjected to abrasive wear or to recover worn surfaces.
In the hardfacing process an alloy is homogenously depos-
ited onto the surface of a soft material (usually low or
medium carbon steels) by welding [1, 2]. Among the hard-
facing alloys, due to the low cost and superior wear resis-
tance, the hypereutectic high-chromium white iron alloys
have been used extensively for the applications where
grinding, milling, and agriculture tools, as well as pumping
apparatus are used. In these alloys, the carbon and chromium
concentrations can be up to 6 and 40 wt%, respectively [1].
The hypereutectic high-chromium white iron alloys can
be considered as in situ composites. Their microstructure
consists of hard primary and eutectic M7C3 carbides (M
includes Fe, Cr, and other carbide-forming elements) as well
as a small amount of secondary M23C6 carbides in the softer
iron matrix (mostly austenite in as-welded conditions) [3].
Their abrasive wear resistance behavior depends on micro-
structural factors like size, shape, the distribution of M7C3
carbides, and the average distance between M7C3 carbides as
well as matrix work hardening ability and toughness [2].
The influence of composition [2, 4–6], welding proce-
dures and parameters [7, 8], microstructure [8–11], and
abrasive medium [6] on the abrasive wear resistance
behavior of Fe–Cr–C hardfacing alloys have been reported
in the previous studies. Zum Gahr and Eldis [6] evaluated
the abrasion wear resistance of a broad range of hardfacing
deposits by use of the ASTM G65 method. The evaluation
of 200 hardfacing deposits revealed that the carbon content
is the most significant variable in the determination of low-
stress abrasion resistance and the best abrasion behavior
was obtained in the alloys containing approximately over
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182 Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192

4 wt% carbon. Buchely et al. [2] evaluated the wear

resistance behavior of Cr rich, W rich, and complex car-
bides (Cr, W, Nb, Mo, and V) hardfacing alloys by use of
the ASTM G65 method and reported the undiluted com-
plex carbides deposits showing the best abrasive wear
resistance of all tested hardfacing alloys. Dwivedi [8]
reported that the low-stress abrasion resistance of hard-
facing alloys is influenced by their own composition, as
well as welding procedure variation.
The present investigation aims to study the effect of the
matrix microstructure on the abrasive wear resistance of
Fe–32Cr–4.5C wt% hardfacing alloy. Various matrix
microstructures were obtained to evaluate the simultaneous
influence of the hardness and the carbide supporting
function of the matrix on the wear resistance behavior.
Fig. 1 Schematic of welding deposited layers

2 Materials and Methods

Table 2 Nominal chemical composition (wt%)
2.1 Sample Preparation C Si P S Cr Fe

Hardfacing alloy (electrode) 4.5 – – – 32 Balance

100 9 100 9 5 mm coupons of ASTM A36 steel were
prepared and were used as substrates. In order to prevent the
inclusion formation in the weld deposits, prior to welding
operation the oxide layers were removed from the substrate
surface by means of the automated grinding machine. Two
layers of 4 mm-diameter hardfacing electrode were depos-
ited on the coupons in the flat position by the shielded metal
arc welding (SMAW) process and no buffer layers were
used. The welding parameters are shown in Table 1. The first
deposited layer consisted of five beads with approximately
20% overlap between each bead. Figure 1 shows the
arrangement of welding layers. On completion of weld
deposits, each test piece was allowed to cool in still air. The
nominal chemical composition of ASTM A36 steel and
hardfacing alloy are shown in Table 2. The as-welded matrix
microstructure (meta-stable austenite) changed to martens-
ite, tempered martensite, and ferrite matrices by means of
heat treatment processes. The heat treatment of deposits was
carried out in a muffle furnace under no protective atmo-
sphere and are described in Table 3.
2.2 Evaluation Techniques
X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), and microhardness were used
Table 1 SMAW process parameters for hardfacing deposits
Voltage Current Travel speed Heat input Inter-pass
(V) (A) (mm min-1) (J mm-1) temperature (°C)
21–23 130 190–210 *650 350
Substrate (ASTM A36 steel) 0.25 0.4 0.04 0.05 – Balance
Table 3 Heat treatment procedures
Matrix microstructure Description
Ferrite 30 h in 800 °C, furnace-cooling to room
temperature
Martensite 1 h in 1050 °C, furnace-cooling to 950 °C
followed by air-cooling
Tempered martensite A martensitic sample hold 3 h at 400 °C
to analyze the microstructure, tribolayer, and worn sur-
faces. The XRD with Cu Ka radiation and scanning angle
(2h) from 30° to 90° was used to analyze the constituent
phases in the microstructure, the possible microstructure
evolution on worn surfaces and the microstructures after
heat treatments. The optical microscope was used in order
to study the microstructure of deposited layers. Metallo-
graphic specimens—both cross-sections normal to the
welding direction and longitudinal sections from the top
layer—were polished and etched by Vilella’s reagent, the
solution composed of 95 ml ethyl alcohol, 5 ml hydro-
chloric acid, and 1 g picric acid. The polished samples
were immersed into the etchant solution for 30–45 s. The
scanning electron microscope (CamScan MV 320) was
used to analyze the tribolayer and to determine the wear
mechanisms. A Ziess microhardness tester was used for the
determination of the phases hardness in microstructure and
the matrix hardness profile using a load of 300 gf. The bulk

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Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
hardness of the deposits in the as-welded and heat-treated
conditions was tested on a Rockwell hardness (HRC) tes-
ter. The hardness values were determined by using the
average of three measurements taken on the surfaces. The
profiles were obtained on the worn surface cross-sections
from the tribolayer toward the intact region. At each depth
three measurements were obtained and the average value
was reported as the Vickers microhardness.
2.3 Abrasive Wear Tests
An abrasive wear test was carried out using a pin-on-disk
wear friction tester. The wear tests were conducted at room
temperature and the humidity of 25–35%. The test surfaces
had to be flattened by grinding in order to remove the
curvature associated with the top surfaces of the weld
deposits. This involved removal of &0.7 mm from the top
surface so that all tests could begin at this depth below the
surface. Hardfaced specimens were prepared in rectangular
shapes. The dimensions of specimens were 10 9 10 9
12 mm. The 150 mesh SiC abrasive paper was used as
abrasive medium. The load was applied to the specimens
by a cantilever method. The samples slid at different
normal loads, including 5, 10, and 20 N. The relative
velocity of the disk and samples was 2.35 ms-1.
Due to the degradation of the abrasive particles during
the wear tests, the intensity of triboenvironment decreases.
In order to avoid this problem, the abrasive papers were
changed and the fresh ones were used after each 500-m
sliding. The sliding distance was 1500 m. After each
250 m, the specimens taken out of the wear machine were
cleaned carefully with acetone to avoid the destruction of
the wear surfaces, dried in hot air and weighed on an
electronic balance with an accuracy of ±0.01 mg. One end
of each pin sample was rectified perpendicular to the lon-
gitudinal axis in order to maintain the apparent surface
constant during the wear test. For each sample and any load
thereof, the wear test was carried out three times and their
averages were taken out for evaluation.
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Metallography
In order to study the microstructure of hardfacing deposits,
the longitudinal and transverse sections of the as-welded
specimen were prepared and analyzed by the optical
microscope.
Four distinct areas (Fig. 2a, d) observed from the base
metal to the second deposited layer. Figure 2a shows the
low carbon steel substrate microstructure consisting of
183
ferrite and pearlite grains. At elevated temperature, carbon
diffusion into the substrate beyond the weld interface
formed a carbon-enriched area (which is defined by
arrows). The low carbon steel base plate melts to some
extent during welding. The intermixing of this liquid with
the electrode material during welding reduces the actual
percentage of carbon and chromium contents in the
deposited layer, resulting in dilution effects [12]. During
welding, the surface tension gradients, buoyancy force, and
electro-magnetic force cause fluid flow in the weld pool
and spread the dilution into the fusion zone. Kou and Wang
[13] pointed out that the velocity of the liquid metal at the
pool boundary should be zero (i.e., the liquid metal has no
movement at the weld pool boundary) and a thin unmixed
layer of material would appear adjacent to the interface
[14]. The boundary between the substrate and the first
deposited layer is shown in Fig. 2b. Dendrites of austenite
appeared adjacent to the fusion line in the thin unmixed
zone. Figure 2c shows the microstructure of the first
deposited layer in front of thin unmixed zone. Although
dilution occurred during welding, the microstructure of the
first deposited layer was found to comprise the primary
carbides in a eutectic mixture of austenite (or martensite)
and carbide—as is predicted by the liquidus projection of
Fe–Cr–C system [15]. The carbides were prevalently
elongated in the normal direction to the fusion line
(Fig. 2c). Powell reported that the carbides were usually
aligned parallel to the direction of heat flow, which is
approximately normal to the substrate [16]. The micro-
structure in the second layer is shown in Fig. 2d. Similar to
the first deposited layer, the microstructure consisted of the
primary and the eutectic carbides and austenitic matrix
which transformed partially into martensite during cooling
to room temperature. These carbides had no preferential
direction and appeared to be either needles or hollow
hexagons depending on their orientation of the axis relative
to the plane of polish. The EDX spot analysis test reveals
that the primary and eutectic carbides are found to have
chemical composition similarity (Table 4). Depending on
the chromium-to-carbon ratio in the alloy, the composition
of M7C3 carbides can vary between (Fe5, Cr2) C3 and (Fe2,
Cr5) C3 [17]. The volume fraction of carbides in the second
deposited layer, calculated by the image analyzer software,
is about 56%. This is in high conformity with Maratray’s
formula [17].
The microstructures and XRD patterns of the second
deposit layer of the heat-treated samples are shown in
Fig. 3. As it is observed, the heat treatment has no signif-
icant effect on the size, shape, and distribution of the pri-
mary and eutectic carbides and the XRD patterns confirm
the various types of the matrix microstructure after heat
treatments.
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Fig. 2 Hardfacing
microstructure: a carbon-enrich
area in the low carbon steel
microstructure, b thin unmixed
zone, c carbide elongated in
direction normal to the fusion
zone, and d microstructure in
second deposited layer

Table 4 Average composition of carbides in second deposited layer specimens after 1500 m sliding, the weight loss at 20 N
applied load is 4–5 times greater than the weight loss at
Element (wt%) The primary carbide Eutectic carbide
5 N applied load. An increase in applied load results in
Fe 35.41 38.06 further penetration of abrasive particles in the wear surface
Cr 55.79 53.16 so that the hardness can be considered as a parameter
C 8.80 8.78 correlating with wear resistance.
According to Fig. 5, at any applied loads, the as-welded
matrix sample shows about 200% greater wear resistance
3.2 Hardness than the ferritic matrix sample. This figure also reveals that
under low (5 N) and high (20 N) load conditions, the wear
The results of the macro and micro-hardness were shown in resistance behavior of the as-welded matrix sample is 20
Tables 5 and 6, respectively. In addition to the XRD pat- and 15% higher, respectively, than the martensitic matrix
terns, the hardness of the heat-treated samples can be sample, although the bulk hardness of the as-welded matrix
considered as a criterion for confirming the achievement of is 5% lower. The bulk hardness does not take into account
the anticipated matrix microstructures after the heat-treat- the microstructure evolution—e.g., work hardening—in the
ment processes. tribolayer during the wear test. Consequently, the bulk
hardness does not always provide a reliable criterion for
3.3 Wear Behavior abrasive wear resistance.

3.3.1 Wear Diagrams 3.3.2 Effect of Matrix Microstructure

The variations in weight loss with sliding distance at dif-
ferent loads are shown in Fig. 4. The weight loss as a
function of sliding distance showed linear behavior at
different loads. Similar trends were observed in all dia-
grams, i.e., the weight loss increased from as-welded (au-
stenitic) to ferritic matrix samples. For each sample it can
be seen that weight loss increased with increasing the
sliding distance, irrespective of the normal load. In the all
In addition to the carbides characteristics (e.g., type, size,
shape, distribution, etc.), the matrix microstructure and
structural evolution in the tribolayer during the wear test
have a great influence on the wear resistance. Austenite has
several properties that show higher resistance. These
properties include work hardening ability and high ductil-
ity. The effect of these properties on wear behavior can be
illustrated as follows.

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Fig. 3 Microstructure and

XRD pattern of the second
deposited layer: a ferritic,
b martensitic, and c tempered
martensite sample

Table 5 Average bulk hardness to work hardening in the near-surface region and the
Sample Hardness (HRC) hardness of matrix is increased locally. It appears that the
work hardening of austenite occurs not only by disloca-
As-welded (Austenitic) matrix 58.0 tion interactions, but also by strain-induced martensite
Martensitic matrix 61.5 [18]. Figure 6a shows the XRD patterns of the wear
Tempered matrix 54.0 surface before abrasion wear tests under the 20 N applied
Ferritic matrix 46.0 force. The spectra taken after the pin-on-disk test
(Fig. 6b) indicate the new martensite peak appearing in
3.3.2.1 Work Hardening Ability During the abrasion the XRD patterns at 20 N loads. This transformation
wear test, heavy plastic deformation in the as-welded results in higher austenite wear resistance behavior
(austenitic) matrix—which is caused by applying the because a portion of mechanical energy, which is imposed
normal and tangential forces of abrasive particles—leads on the wear surface, is used in the phase transformation

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Table 6 Microhardness of phases rather than the material removal. The martensitic layer
Phase Microhardness (HV)
may be removed by wear micro-mechanisms and the
austenite of the inner layer may be exposed to the surface
Primary carbides 1500–1700 and repeat this process. Figure 7 shows the microhardness
Eutectic carbides 1200–1300 variation beneath the worn surface of as-welded (austen-
Martensite *675 itic) and martensitic matrix specimens after the abrasion
Austenite *585 wear test at the 20 N applied load. It seems that the
Tempered martensite *520 hardness of austenitic matrix and the hardening depth are
Ferrite *400 higher than 35HV and about 60 lm, respectively.

Fig. 4 Weight loss versus

sliding distance at different
normal loads: a 5 N, b 10 N,
and c 20 N

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Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192 187

Fig. 5 The abrasives wear resistance versus bulk hardness

The frictional heating produced during wear test may

increase the temperature locally to the extent of the
structural changes during the wear test [18]. In the mar-
tensitic matrix sample, the heat generation in the surface
layer can improve the toughness and ductility [19, 20]. The
depth of the tempered layer corresponds to the thickness of
plastically deformed layer [21]. This thickness depends on
the type of the abrasive particles and bulk hardness of
material. In Fig. 7, the hardness of the layer of the mar-
tensitic matrix specimen decreases about 30HV and the
depth of the tempered layer is about 30 lm.

3.3.2.2 Ductility The carbides near the wear surface may

fracture either by the abrasive particles with higher hard-
ness, as compared with M7C3 carbides (Fig. 8) [6] or by the Fig. 6 X-ray diffraction patterns: a before wear test, b after wear test
under 20 N applied load. M martensite, c austenite
tangential forces applied by moving the abrasive particles
[3]. The tangential force causes carbide to be bent and
during bending a tensile stress develops on the back side of
the carbide which leads to fracture. The nature of matrix
encompassing these carbides has a great influence on the
abrasion resistance performance of alloy. The ductility and
strain hardenability of austenite support the carbide by
allowing the matrix to deform around the carbides during
abrasion and delays the beginning of fracture by applying a
hydrostatic pressure around the carbides [3]. Moreover, the
austenite can also continue to support the carbides after
they fracture, thereby reducing the material loss [3]. In
addition to supporting the massive carbides, under normal
and tangential forces inserted by abrasive particles, the
surface of the austenitic sample flows easily without frac-
ture and, as compared with the brittle martensite matrix,
the material removal decreases. Doğan et al. [3] evaluated
the austenitic matrix with a single scratch test machine.
The results show that the imposed energy is distributed in
greater volume of material, resulting in less surface dam- Fig. 7 As-welded and martensitic matrix micro-hardness from
age, compared with pearlitic/bainitic matrix. tribolayer to intact area

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3.4 SEM Study of Wear Surfaces
The worn surfaces of the samples are shown in Fig. 9.
Scratches and grooves are observable in all worn surfaces.
Figure 9a shows the wear surface of as-welded (austenitic)
matrix specimen. It is observed that micro-cutting and
micro-ploughing are the wear micro-mechanisms. The
indentation of the abrasive particles is not deep enough for
heavy material removal and forms small and fracture-free
lips adjacent to the grooves. Removing these pile-ups by
abrasive particles during the wear test results in material
removal and the pure ploughing is known not to produce
material loss [21]. The grooves are far from each other and
their density per unit area is very low. The micro-cutting
mechanism tracks are observable anywhere in the speci-
men and due to this mechanism the material loss is equal to
the volume of the tracks produced. Hence, the main
mechanism for material removal in this specimen is the
micro-cutting and compared with micro-ploughing, this
mechanism causes greater loss of material.
Figure 9b and c shows the worn surface of the mar-
tensitic matrix specimen. The three micromechanisms
which are micro-cutting, micro-ploughing, and micro-
cracking are activated in material loss. The micro-cracking
can occur because of highly concentrated stresses imposed
by abrasive particles. As a result, debris is detached from
the wear surface due to crack formation and propagation.
The protruding carbides are fractured and detached from
the worn surface and consequently increase the width of
Fig. 8 Typical aspect of protruding primary carbide after wear test
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Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
the micro-cracking track locally (as shown by arrows in
Fig. 9c). As will be discussed later, these fractured and tiny
carbide particles are introduced between the contacting
surfaces and blocked by the large primary carbides. The
micro-cracking tracks are not as abundant as other mech-
anisms tracks in martensitic matrix specimens. The grooves
are not deep and form small-size and fracture-free lips so in
this specimen again the micro-cutting mechanism is the
predominate mechanism in wear loss.
The worn surface belongs to the tempered martensitic
matrix specimen (Fig. 9d). Compared with as-welded
(austenitic) and martensitic matrix specimens, in this
specimen the grooves are deeper, wider and have more
density per unit area (i.e., are closer to each other). The
dimension of lips adjacent to the grooves increased and
detachment occurred in the lips by abrasive particles
(which are shown by arrows). Therefore, the main mech-
anism is not micro-cutting, and micro-ploughing has more
influence on material removal, compared with the previous
specimens.
The worn surface of the ferritic matrix specimen is
shown in Fig. 9e. In this specimen the grooves are smooth
and continuous, indicating that the material which was
originally within the grooves was cut away and detached
by abrasive particles. Their depth is high enough for huge
material removal, as compared with the previous speci-
mens. Although the micro-cutting tracks are also observed
on the worn surface, and although this micro-mechanism
contributes to material loss, the predominant mechanism of
wear loss is micro-ploughing. Both the micro-cutting and
the micro-ploughing were taking place simultaneously in
all samples. The contribution of the micro-cutting and
micro-ploughing in material loss depends on the material
characteristics and test parameters. In this study, the test
parameters were equal to all samples. Therefore, the micro-
cutting became the predominant micro-mechanism for
harder samples (e.g., the as-welded or martensitic sample),
while the micro-ploughing was the main mechanism in
material loss in softer specimens. The micro-cutting
mechanism is observed only in the hard and brittle mar-
tensitic matrix sample.
The investigation of the worn surfaces (Fig. 8) revealed
that the abrasive particles are cut and indented into M7C3
carbides with the same rate as of that of other phases in
microstructure. Zum Gahr and Eldis [6] reported that the
abrasive particles (e.g., SiC) which are harder than M7C3
carbides can penetrate and crack carbides. The as-welded
(austenitic) and martensitic matrix microstructure samples
after the 20 N applied load wear test were cut perpendic-
ularly in order to observe the material response under the
wear surface. The transverse of the as-welded worn surface
(Fig. 10a) revealed that the carbides are fractured due to
the penetration of the hard SiC abrasive particles during the
Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
Fig. 9 Typical aspect of worn
surfaces: a as-welded,
b, c martensitic, d tempered
martensite, and e ferritic sample
wear test. The depth of the fractured carbides is up to
15 lm. The ductile austenite supports the fractured car-
bides by the previously mentioned mechanisms in
Sect. 3.3.2 and prevents the bodily removal of the carbides.
Figure 10b shows the view perpendicular to the worn
189
surface of martensitic sample. Although the wear test
conditions are similar to the two samples, the carbides are
broken at the depth of up to 60 lm and are bodily removed
from the wear surface. This is because of the fact that the
hard and brittle martensite matrix cannot support the
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Fig. 10 Views perpendicular to the worn surface of samples: a as-
welded and b martensitic after 1500-m sliding under the 20 N applied
load
carbides as the as-welded matrix sample does, leading to
higher material loss. The track of the fractured carbides is
shown on the worn surface of the martensitic sample
(Fig. 9b) by arrows. Figure 11 shows the cross-section of
a primary carbide—in tempered martensite specimen after
the wear test—at higher magnification. Two narrow
grooves and a wide groove are observable in this figure.
The wide groove is one of the usual grooves which are
effective in material removal. The indentation rate of the
abrasive particle in the primary carbide was the same as
of the other phases but two narrow grooves—located
beneath the wide groove—continued in the primary car-
bide and was blocked in the middle of it. These trapped
abrasive particles are detached from the contacting sur-
faces like fractured massive carbides, or belong to crashed
tiny SiC particles originating from abrasive paper. These
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Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
Fig. 11 Trapping of the tiny particles in the middle of a primary
carbide in the tempered martensite specimen
particles can move freely between the contacting surfaces
and lead to three-body abrasion. The behavior of this
alloy under two- and three-body abrasion conditions can
differ considerably. Selecting the small surface area of the
sample pins, cleaning the wear surface with acetone after
each 250 m and changing abrasive paper after each 500 m
reduced the effect of these particles and eliminated three-
body abrasion. The appearance of the SiC abrasive paper
before and after the wear test is shown in Fig. 12. Fig-
ure 12a shows that the surface of the abrasive paper
before the wear test consists of round-edge protruding
abrasive grits with 100 lm average size. These particles
are adhered to the paper by the binder which supports the
abrasive grits during wear. The surface of the abrasive
paper after the 500-m sliding under the 5 N applied load
is shown in Fig. 12b. Although the abrasive particles are
flattened to some extent, they still maintain their pro-
truding original shape (which is shown by arrows). Fig-
ure 12c shows the surface of the abrasive paper after the
500-m sliding under the 20 N applied load. As can be
seen, the SiC particles are flattened to a large extent and,
unlike the surface of the abrasive paper under the 5 N
applied load, are covered with the tiny particles produced
during the wear test. The quantity of binder is high
enough to support the carbides during the wear test and
prevents them from bodily removal and retains the two-
body abrasion condition.
Tribol Lett (2010) 39:181–192
Fig. 12 Silicon carbide abrasive paper: a before the wear test, b after
the wear test under the 5 N applied load, and c after the wear test
under the 20 N applied load
4 Conclusions
The results of two-body abrasion wear tests and worn
surfaces analysis suggests the following conclusions:
191
(a) The as-welded (austenitic) matrix shows the highest
wear resistance, whereas the abrasive wear resistance
of the ferritic matrix is the lowest among all
specimens. At all applied loads, the as-welded matrix
shows about 200% greater wear resistance compare to
ferritic matrix sample after 1500 m sliding.
(b) The bulk hardness of specimens prior to the wear test
is not a true index of wear resistance. Although the
martensitic matrix sample has higher bulk hardness,
the work hardening ability of the austenitic matrix
and the drop of tribolayer hardness in the martensitic
matrix sample during the wear test result in higher
wear behavior of austenitic sample.
(c) Micro-cutting and micro-ploughing are the predomi-
nant micro-mechanisms in material removal in the all
specimens and the proportion of microploughing
increases by increasing matrix toughness. The micro-
cutting mechanism tracks were merely observed in the
hard and brittle martensitic matrix specimen.
(d) The primary carbides act as a barrier to interrupting
the loose abrasive particles motion which may be
introduced between contacting surfaces during abra-
sion wear test and eliminate the three-body abrasion.
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