THE DRY SLIDING WEAR BEHAVIOR OF AN AUSTEMPERED SPHEROIDAL CAST-IRON

Dry sliding pin-on-disc wear tests have been carried out on an austempered spheroidal cast iron. The wear resistance was found to be orders of magnitude greater than the parent as-cast spheroidal iron and a much harder steel. The study of the wear behaviour was conducted as a function of sliding velocity between 0.5 m s-1 and 2.0 m s-1 at a load of 2 MPa. A distinction in the wear behaviour was found with severe wear at low speeds and mild wear at high speeds. This distinction has been related to oxide formation, microstructural and surface-hardening characteristics. © 1990.