Elucidating the role of kappa-carbides in Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys on abrasion wear

摘要

Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys with high C and Al contents exhibit hardness that could be enhanced drastically with the precipitation of nano kappa-carbides through aging and thermomechanical treatments. Nonetheless, information has been scarcely reported on the effect of both treatments on the abrasive wear response of those alloys. Consequently, wear tests were performed using the pin on abrasive paper configuration. The aging treatments were performed at 550 degrees C for 4, 8 and 15 h of aging time and thermomechanical treatments were applied using compression at temperatures from 900 degrees C to 1150 degrees C and at strain rates from 0.01 to 1 s(-1). The results showed a strong correlation between the mismatch of the kappa-carbide and gamma matrix with the wear coefficient.