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Acta Metall Sin  2018, Vol. 54 Issue (1): 21-30    DOI: 10.11900/.0412.1961.2017.00129
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Effect of Austenitization Temperature on the Dry Sliding Wear Properties of a Medium Carbon Quenching and Partitioning Steel
Jilan YANG1, Yuankai JIANG1, Jianfeng GU1, Zhenghong GUO1(), Haiyan CHEN2
1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
2 College of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
Cite this article: 

Jilan YANG, Yuankai JIANG, Jianfeng GU, Zhenghong GUO, Haiyan CHEN. Effect of Austenitization Temperature on the Dry Sliding Wear Properties of a Medium Carbon Quenching and Partitioning Steel. Acta Metall Sin, 2018, 54(1): 21-30.

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Abstract  

The quenching and partitioning (Q&P) process is a promising method to create novel martensitic steels with improved balance of strength and ductility by retaining considerable amount of austenite in martensitic matrix. This kind of microstructure provides suitable condition to study wear and abrasion mechanism since the effect of retained austenite on the wear property of martensitic steel is still controversial by now. Selecting traditional quenching and tempering (Q&T) sample with identical composition Fe-0.4C-1.5Mn-1.5Si as reference, the dry sliding wear property of Q&P samples with different austenitization temperatures was studied. The results show that the volume fraction of retained austenite in Q&P samples with full austenitization at 860 or 1000 °C respectively is nearly the same (about 14.37% in the former and about 13.79% in the later), and the corresponding carbon concentration (mass fraction) in retained austenite is relatively high (1.37% in the former and 1.38% in the later). Under the conditions of low loading (50 N) and slide speed (40 mm/s), it is not easy to induce martensitic transformation because of very strong mechanical stability, leading to the low friction and wear resistance of samples. The slight better wear resistance of samples with low austenitization temperature can be attributed to microstructural refinement. When the austenitization temperature was 800 ℃, the intercritical Q&P samples were obtained. Microstructure analysis indicates there exist the highest volume fraction of retained austenite (about 22.28%) and a small volume fraction of ferrite (about 6.75%) in martensitic matrix, which results in the lowest microhardness among present four kinds of samples. However, the mechanical stability of retained austenite in this kind of sample is weak due to the low carbon concentration (about 1.06%). The obvious martensitic transformation accompanying sliding wear contributes to extra hardening and provides additional compressive stress on the touching surface caused by volume expansion. Therefore, the intercritical Q&P samples exhibit the best wear resistance. Based on the experimental results, it is true that the mechanical stability instead of the amount of retained austenite in martensitic steel plays a critical role in improving wear resistance.

Key words:  medium carbon quenching and partitioning steel      dry sliding wear wear and abrasion      retained austenite      martensitic transformation     
Received:  14 April 2017     
ZTFLH:  TG706  
Fund: Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51071101)

URL: 

https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/.0412.1961.2017.00129     OR     https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2018/V54/I1/21

Fig.1  OM images of Q&T 860 (a), Q&P 800 (b), Q&P 860 (c) and Q&P 1000 (d) specimens, respectively
Fig.2  XRD spectra of specimens before (b) and after (a) wearing tests
Specimen Before / HV After / HV
Q&T 860 546 527
Q&P 800 334 419
Q&P 860 452 434
Q&P 1000 449 420
Table 1  The hardness of specimens before and after wearing tests
Fig.3  Variations of friction coefficient (μ) of four specimens with time (t) (a), and the profile of cross-sectioned worn surfaces of four specimens (b) (X is the width of worn surface, Z is the depth of worn surface)
Specimen μ V / mm3
Q&T 860 0.77 3.61×10-2
Q&P 800 0.79 2.90×10-2
Q&P 860 0.57 7.95×10-2
Q&P 1000 0.55 10.51×10-2
Table 2  The friction and wearing properties of four kinds of specimens
Fig.4  Low (a~d) and high (e~h) magnified wearing morphologies of Q&T 860 (a, e), Q&P 800 (b, f), Q&P 860 (c, g), Q&P 1000 (d, h) specimens, EDS of the abrasive grain on the wearing surface of Q&T 860 specimen (i), EDS of the protrusion on the surface of the ground ball after wearing with Q&P 860 specimen (j)
Fig.5  The microstructural features of worn surfaces of Q&T 860 (a), Q&P 800 (b), Q&P 860 (c) and Q&P 1000 (d) specimens after wearing tests
Fig.6  Bright (a, c) and central dark (b, d) field TEM images of Q&P 800 samples before (a, b) and after (c, d) wearing tests respectively (Insets show the SAED patterns)
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