The Influence of the Chemical Composition on the Microstructural Changes and on the Resistance to Abrasion of Low-Alloy Casting Steels

This study analyzes the influence of boron in the presence of chromium, vanadium, and titanium on changes in the tribological properties of low-alloy casting steels caused by structural modifications brought about by the above elements. Eight grades of cast steels were manufactured based on the designed chemical composition. The wear behavior of these materials was investigated with the GOST (Russian) standard wear test equipment, in which the steel samples were worn by coarse alumina particles (grit size #90). The wear of the cast steels was evaluated by weight loss and their wear mechanisms were investigated with scanning electron microscopy. The two predominant abrasive wear mechanisms for the cast steels were microploughing and microcutting. The worn surfaces also showed traces of pitting originating from the removal of larger particles. The results obtained during the wheel-rubber wear laboratory test may be used to compare the abrasive wear resistance of materials with a ferrite-pearlite microstructure because the test is sensitive to changes in abrasion resistance caused by microstructural changes due to alloying additives of non-heat-treated cast steels.