Dry sliding wear research on C45 carbon steel, 41Cr4 alloyed steel and X3CrNi13-4 martensitic stainless steel

In this paper, the experimental research refers to the dry sliding wear behaviour of three type of steels namely carbon steel (C45), alloyed steel (41Cr4) and martensitic stainless steel (X3CrNi13-4). From the X3CrNi13-4 martensitic stainless steel, three different batches with varying percentages of chromium and nickel were analyzed. For all the steels, the research was made using a tribometer (CSM Tribometer) through to the pin-on-disk method (POD), where the friction coefficient and wear rate were determined. All these tests were made according to the ASTM G99 standard, with the same working conditions for all five samples, only for the two batches of the X3CrNi13-4 steel, the motor speed was varied. The obtained results were presented through characteristic graphs for the friction coefficient and through images acquired with a digital and a laser microscope respectively with a specialized software regarding the wear track profiles. It can be concluded that the C45 carbon steel showed the good tribological behaviour with the highest dry sliding wear resistance.