Wear characteristics of vacuum sintered steels

The present paper is focused on the wear characteristic of vacuum sintered Cr-Mo-[Mn]-[Cu] steels. The effect of chemical composition and the processing conditions in a vacuum furnace were evaluated. In such furnaces the cooling rate is generally determined by the pressure of the gas (N2) introduced into the chamber, the average cooling rates were calculated in the range of 1240°C to 400°C. The wear characteristics were analyzed as function of the processing and microstructures of the tested alloys through pin on disk test. Sintering of specimens in vacuum together with rapid cooling resulted in the formation of dominant martensitic microstructures with some small bainitic areas. The effect of both surface hardness and microstructure on the wear behaviour of the investigated steels shows the relation between the hardness and the wear rate. The influence of processing condition on the amount of martensite is also presented.