Three-body abrasive wear of carbide-free bainite, martensite and bainite-martensite structure of similar hardness

The three-body abrasive wear behavior of three ferrous alloys with different microstructures but similar hardness has been investigated using a standard dry-sand rubber wheel test (ASTM G65-16). Although the hardness of the alloys was similar, the abrasion rates are radically different owing to differences in abrasion mechanisms in their microstructures. A carbide-free bainitic steel having fine bainitic laths exhibited better abrasion resistance owing to the strain-induced transformation of austenite into martensite. Nano-scaled martensitic laths that formed on the surface resisted plastic deformation during abrasion and thereby increased the abrasion resistance. The microstructure containing bainitic ferrite undergoes extensive plastic deformation associated with a large quantity of dislocations, which in turn accommodates the strain of abrasion. The steel with a blockymartensitic microstructure had the least wear resistance. In that case, fragmentation and chipping comprised the prominent abrasion mechanism. The degeneration of a martensitic structure and its subsequent tempering radically reduces the hardness at the surface and makes it more susceptible to abrasion. Steel containing a mixture of bainite and martensite had intermediate abrasion resistance relative to the other two alloys.