Abrasive wear behaviour of Fe-30Cr-3.6C overlays deposited on mild steel

This paper describes the influence of sliding wear conditions and post weld heat treatment on abrasive wear resistance of iron base hardfacing overlays (Fe-30Cr-3.6C) deposited on mild steel. Overlays were deposited by a shielded metal arc (SMA) welding process on mild steel using a commercially available hardfacing electrode (Sugar-Arc) of 4.0 mm in diameter. Overlays were deposited using a welding current of 250 A (DCEN) and welding speed of 15cm/min. The abrasive wear resistance of overlays in as-welded and heat-treated condition was tested using a pin on disc type wear testing machine against a 320 grade SiC abrasive paper at different normal loads (1-4 N). Optical microscopy was used to study the microstructure of overlays. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) wear surfaces was carried out to analyze the wear mechanism. Variation in the hardness across the coating substrate interface of was observed. Post weld heat treatment improved the abrasive wear resistance.