THE ROLE OF OPERATIONAL FACTORS IN SHAPING OF WEAR PROPERTIES OF ALLOYED AUSTEMPERED DUCTILE IRON PART II. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ABRASIVES PROCESSES AND THE DYNAMIC ACTIVITY ON THE WEAR PROPERTY OF AUSFERRITIC DUCTILE IRON

The study presents results of the second part of wear tests of austempered ductile irons on a specially designed test rig that allows simulating the real operating conditions of chain wheels. The chain wheels subjected to testing were operated in conditions characterized by combined action of loose quartz abrasive and an external dynamic force. The studies involved the determination of the hardness, microstructure and linear wear of the ADIs in question considered as a function of the austempering temperature and the austenite content. Based on the results obtained, the following was observed: a decrease in the wear as a function of the austempering temperature and thus in the content of austenite in ADIs; a slight deformation of graphite after completing the wear test involving external dynamic forces; a negative linear dependence between the linear wear and the impact resistance. It was found that the increased wear of cast irons with a lower content of austenite may be caused by the propagation of cracks initiated by damage to graphite nodules, while in the conditions characterized by combined action of abrasive wear and dynamic load the cast irons with a higher content of austenite and higher impact resistance have better wear properties.