Influence of abrasive particles on wear mechanism and wear resistance in sliding abrasion tests at elevated temperatures

The metal matrices (MMs) X2CrNiMo17-13-2 and NiCr20AlSi and the metal matri x composites (MMCs) of the latter MM with 30 v / o WC/W2C or Cr3C2 as hard particles (HPs) were tested in sliding abrasion, The tests were carried out against flint, corundum and silicon carbide as abrasive particles (APs) at temperatures up to 900 degrees C in argon. An increasing hardness ratio, H -MM/H-AP, improves the wear resistance at room temperature. At elevated tem peratures, the wear resistance of the MMs depends upon the formation of a s elf-protecting layer of embedded AP-fragments. The tests against flint and corundum revealed an increasing wear resistance up to a critical temperatur e T-C and a sharp decrease above T-C which is lower for corundum than far f lint, MMs tested against SIC show a constant low wear resistance versus tem perature. An important improvement in the wear resistance is achieved by th e utilization of HPs in MMCs with a hardness ratio, H-HP/H-AP, greater than 1.2. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.