Mechanical properties and microstructure evaluation of high manganese steel alloyed with vanadium

Abstract: Austenitic manganese steel has a high toughness, high ductility, high strain hardening capacity and excellent wear resistance, the material is mostly used in the mining industry for crushing and loading equipment. High manganese steel shows superior wear resistance when used under primary crushing system than when used under secondary and tertiary modes of crushing. This work presents the effect of vanadium content on the mechanical properties and microstructure evaluation of high manganese steel. The addition of vanadium to high manganese steels has a direct increase on the hardness and wear resistance. Impact testing for alloys containing vanadium showed low impact energies compared to the standard manganese steel. The increase in hardness and the wear resistance of the alloys was explained on the basis of vanadium carbide which had formed on the austenitic matrix. It was observed that the carbon and vanadium content will have an effect on the mechanical properties of high manganese steel alloyed with vanadium. Microstructural examination showed that the size and distribution of vanadium carbides has an effect on the mechanical properties and the wear behaviour. Therefore, this work shows that the addition of vanadium to high manganese steel will increase the hardness and wear resistance while decreasing the impact energy of high manganese steel alloyed with vanadium