Influence of temperature of sub-zero treatments on the wear behaviour of die steel

• Published in: Wear Vol. 267; no. 9-10; pp. 1361 - 1370
• Main Authors: Das, D., Ray, K.K., Dutta, A.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 09-09-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Cryogenic treatment; Die steel; Exact sciences and technology; Friction, wear, lubrication; Machine components; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Mechanism of wear; Mode of wear; Sub-zero treatment; Wear behaviour; Mode of wear; Wear behaviour; Mechanism of wear; Sub-zero treatment; Cryogenic treatment; Die steel; Wear particle; Metal; Dry friction; Retained austenite; Wear rate; Tool wear; Wear resistance; Sliding friction; Subsurface; Die; Scanning electron microscopy; Sliding wear; Wear test; Hardness; Energy dispersion; Stainless steel; Carbides; Constant load; Tribology
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2008.11.029

This study examines the influence of temperature of sub-zero treatment on the wear behaviour of AISI D2 steel. A series of dry sliding wear studies have been made under constant normal load at varying sliding velocities. Emphasis has been laid to understand the operative modes and mechanisms of wear by the estimation of specific wear rates and detailed characterizations of the worn surfaces, wear debris and subsurfaces with the help of scanning electron microscope (SEM) examinations coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalyses. The obtained results unambiguously infer that lower the temperature of sub-zero treatment higher is the improvement in wear resistance. Wear resistance can increase by 1.5–125 times depending on sliding velocity while hardness increases only by 4.2% at the lowest temperature of sub-zero treatment (77K) compared to the conventionally treated specimens. These results corroborate well with the reduction in retained austenite content associated with simultaneous increase in the amount of secondary carbide particles with lowering of sub-zero treatment temperature. The operative modes and mechanisms of wear are identified as either mild oxidative or severe delaminative, which depends on the temperature of sub-zero treatment and the sliding velocity of the wear test.