Improvement in high stress abrasive wear property of steel by hardfacing

High stress abrasive wear behavior of mild steel, medium carbon steel, and hardfacing alloy has been studied to ascertain the extent of improvement in the wear properties after hardfacing of steel. High stress abrasive wear tests were carried out by sliding the specimen against the abrasive media consisting of silicon carbide particles, rigidly bonded on paper base and mounted on disk. Maximum wear was found in the case of mild steel followed by a medium carbon alloy steel and a hardfacing alloy. Different compositions of steels and constituent phases present led to different wear rates of the specimen. The extent of improvement in wear performance of steel due to hardfacing is quite appreciable (twice compared to mild steel). Microstructural examination of the wear surface has been carried out to understand the wear mechanism.