Metallurgical life cycle assessment through prediction of wear for agricultural grade steel

Basic requirements of any agricultural implements are the desired combination of hardness and wear resistance properties. Heat treatment plays an important role in order to achieve these mechanical properties. Conventionally high carbon (similar to0.70C) steel hardened by oil quenching (38-45 HRC) is being used but in desert areas and places having black soil higher hardness (45-52 HRC) is required. So for these applications medium carbon (similar to0.30C) steels with microadditions of chromium or boron had been used. Present investigation characterized the mechanism of wear for these three experimental grades of steel. Preferred microstructures of the steel had been determined and the influence of surface hardness and other mechanical properties had been considered for their possible applications in the agricultural sector like tillage discs, soil-engaging components, etc. Predictions of the volume loss during progressive wear for any particular linear distance travelled was compared with the actual obtained by experiments. This in turn assessed the metallurgical life cycle of the agricultural implements made by particular grade of steel in desired soil conditions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.