Enhancement in wear resistance by depositing Fe-C-Cr based hardfacing alloys on ASTM A36 steel

Hardfacing is a surface modification technique mostly utilized for the deposition of superior and hard materials on the surface of a substrate with the help of some suitable welding process. This technique is commonly used for improving the desirable surface characteristics, for example, erosion resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. of several engineering parts. In the present investigation, three different types of Fe-C-Cr based hardfacing alloys were deposited on the surface of ASTM A36 steel by using manual metal arc welding process in order to enhance its wear resistance. Sliding wear behavior of bare ASTM A36 steel specimens and hardfaced ASTM A36 steel samples were studied on a pin-on-disc wear tester. It was observed that the sliding wear behavior and performance of all the hardfaced specimens was found to be better than that of the bare ASTM A36 steel samples. The effect of the different hardfacings on the wear characteristics, behavior, performance and the extent of wear on ASTM A36 steel were thoroughly examined. The effect of varying the percentage composition of chromium from 23% to 33% and carbon from 3.5% to 4.5% in the different Fe-C-Cr based hardfacing electrodes on the resultant microstructure as well as the wear behavior of the deposited layers was studied. The comparison of cumulative wear rate (in Bowden) of all the hardfaced specimens with that of the bare ASTM A36 samples exhibited a considerable advancement in the wear resistance imparted by Fe-C-Cr based hardfacings over the ASTM A36 steel