THE ABRASIVE WEAR BEHAVIOR OF AUSTEMPERED SPHEROIDAL CAST IRONS

Laboratory abrasive wear testing has been carried out on two austempered commercial spheroidal cast irons and compared with the results of similar tests on a range of abrasion-resistant carbon steels. All the austempered irons were found to have better abrasion resistance than proprietary abrasion-resistant steels. These austempered irons derive their outstanding properties from the morphology of the dual-phase ferritic-austenitic matrix coupled to the high work-hardening characteristics brought about by the stress-induced austenite-to-martensite transformation during abrasion. The influence of structure and mechanically induced transformation has been studied as a function of austempering temperature and time.