Erosive Wear of Dual-Phase Low- and Medium-Carbon Steels after Quenching from the Intercritical Temperature Range

The wear of normalized (N) and dual-phase (DP) low-carbon (0.08% C) and medium-carbon (0.42% C) steels under air-jet erosion at 15° and 90° impact angles of alumina particles is studied. The DP steels are produced via intercritical annealing heat treatment of low- and medium-carbon steels at 745°C for various holding times (2, 3, and 4 min) followed by water quenching, which results in formation of a varying amount of martensite in the structure. The results indicate that the hardness and the UTS of the low- and medium-carbon dual-phase steels increase with increase in the martensite content. Material removal occurs by cracking, crater formation, and low-angle cutting at 90°, whereas ploughing and chipping of the material occur at 15°.