Enhancement of wear resistance and impact toughness of as cast hypoeutectic high chromium cast iron using niobium

The effect of niobium additions on the as-cast microstructure of a hypoeutectic high-Cr cast iron containing 2.2 wt.% C and 16.5 wt.% Cr was investigated. With increasing niobium content, the eutectic M7C3 carbides were refined and became less elongated as well as its volume fraction was decreased gradually. The first precipitated NbC particles could be act as heterogeneous substrate of proeutectic austenite and a barrier to M7C3 grain growth. The morphology of NbC carbides changed with increasing niobium content. Such NbC particles were increased with increasing Nb content and subsequently contributed to increased hardness. Optimum toughness was obtained for the irons alloyed with 2.14% Nb. The effects of applied load and Nb-additions on wear resistance of high chromium cast iron have been studied. The results showed that wear resistance increases with increasing Nb addition. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the NbC particles on the weight loss was more evident at higher loads.