Erosive wear and impact damage of high-chromium white cast irons

High-chromium white cast irons rue used extensively in environments where small particle impact causes considerable damage. In this study, three white cast irons with a variation in carbide volume fraction were eroded by spherical and angular particles. The white cast irons eroded at a higher rate when the erodent was WC-Co spheres than when the erodent was alumina particles. When eroded by spherical WC-Co particles, the eutectic white cast iron eroded at a higher rate than the hypoeutectic white cast iron. The results of the erosion experiments were interpreted in terms of a mechanism of platelet formation involving strain localization. The greater strain hardening rate of the hypoeutectic white cast iron can account for the better erosion resistance compared to the eutectic white cast iron, based on the strain localization mechanism. The larger size and greater density of the WC-Co spheres can account for the higher erosion rates of the white cast irons when eroded with WC-Co spheres compared to the erosion rate with alumina particles. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.