Effect of Carbon Content on Impact Wear Resistance of Low Carbon High Alloy Steel in Corrosive Condition

Impact wear properties of the low carbon high alloy steels with different carbon content in corrosive condition were investigated. The slurry was the mixture of the dilute sulfuric acid with pH value 2.5 and the iron ore with 1.7 -3.3 mm in diameter. The impact energy is 2.7 J. The improved MLD-10 impact-corrosion-wear tester was used to investigate the wear properties of the alloy. By analyzing the X-ray diffraction spectra, the morphology of worn surfaces and the metallograph of subsurface of the specimen, the microstructure and the corrosive impact wear mechanism of the steels were investigated. The low carbon high alloy steel with 0.21% C has better corrosive impact wear resistance than the steels containing 0.16% C and 0.25% C. The dominant wear mechanism was fatigue with shallow flaking. The microcracks initiated at subsurface, developed parallel to the wear surface and led to the shallow flaking. The dominant wear mechanisms for the steels contain 0.16% and 0.25% carbon are multiple plastic deformation and deep fatigue with shallow flaking respectively.