Wear behavior and microstructure of Fe-C-Si-Cr-B-Ni hardfacing alloys

This study aims to investigate the relationship between wear resistance and microstructure of a hardfacing alloy Fe-C-Si-Cr-B-Ni system as well as investigating ways of improving the hardness of the hard facing layer through the addition of nickel to achieve a finer granular microstructure. Three hardfacing alloys are used for overlaying. Ferroboron (FeB) and Ferronickel(FeNi), are added to the massive wire during the welding process. A hardness test, microscopic characterization and wear analysis are carried out on the samples. The surfaces of the samples are examined using scanning electron microscope in order to better understand the wear mechanism. At room temperature, wear occurs through a combination of abrasive grooving and local delamination. Microstructure and hardness affect the wear resistance of the alloys. Test results shows that as hardness increases, wear resistance increases.