Abrasion Wear Behavior of High-chromium Cast Iron

High-chromium cast irons are used as abrasion resistant materials. Their wear resistance depends on quantity of carbides and the matrix supporting these carbides. The paper presents the results of cast irons of chemical composition (in wt. %) 19–22 Cr and 2–4.5 C alloyed by 1.7 Mo + 5 Ni + 2 Mn to improve their toughness, which were tested in working conditions of ferroalloys crushing. Tests showed that these as-cast chromium cast irons with mostly austenitic matrix achieved the hardness of 38-45 HRC, but their relative abrasion resistance Ψ ranged from 1.3 to 4.6, was higher comparing to the tool made from the X210Cr12 steel heat treated on hardness 61 HRC. The transformation of austenite into martensite occurs not only at the worn strained areas (on a surface of scratch) but also in their neighbourhood. Due to the work hardening of relatively large volumes of transformed austenite the cast iron possesses high abrasion resistance also on the surfaces where low pressures are acting. The tough abrasion-resistant cast iron well proved for production of dynamic and wear stressed castings e.g., crusher hammers, cutting tools for ceramic etc.