Effect of Quenching Temperature on Impact Abrasive Wear Properties of Medium Carbon Low Alloy Wear-resistant Steel ZG35C

    
    Introduction
    
    Quenching is a heat treatment process that is broadly used to improve the mechanical properties of metal alloys. The process of quenching involves rapidly cooling the metal from its austenitizing temperature to reduce its hardness and increase its ductility. Quenching also increases the wear resistance of ferrous materials by making the microstructure more homogeneous. The quenching temperature plays an important role in the properties of the material, such as strength, hardness, fatigue resistance, and wear resistance. In this article, the effect of quenching temperature on the impact abrasive wear properties of a medium carbon low alloy wear resistant steel, ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi, will be studied.
    
    Material Properties
    
    ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi is a medium carbon Ni-Mo based wear resistant steel. It is a low alloy, high strength, and wear-resistant steel developed by the China Metallurgical Industry Research Institute. The chemical composition of ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi is shown in Table 1.
    
    Table 1 Chemical composition of ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi (mass %)
    
    |C |0.32-0.37 |
    |Si |≤0.35 |
    |Mn |2.00-2.50 |
    |P |≤0.030 |
    |S |≤0.030 |
    |Cr |2.20-2.50 |
    |Ni |4.00-4.50 |
    |Mo |1.00-1.30 |
    |V |0.30-0.50 |
    |Ti |0.10-0.25 |
    
    Experimental Procedure
    
    Specimens of ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi were quenched in oil and water with temperatures of 600°C, 650°C, 700°C, and 750°C. The specimens were heat-treated in a vacuum induction furnace, which was cooled in oil, followed by water. The impact abrasive wear properties of specimens were measured by the ASTM G65 Standard Test Method for Measuring Abrasion Using the Dry Sand/Rubber Wheel Apparatus, using AISI D2 steel balls as the abrasive particles. The wear test was performed in 10 passes at a speed of 7.5 m/s and a normal load of 10 N. The wear tests were controlled at 25°C and with a relative humidity of 70%. At the end of each test, the specimens were subjected to Image-Based surface analysis to measure the wear area, wear volume and wear characteristics of the specimens.
    
    Results and Discussion
    
    The surface wear characteristics of different quenched ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi specimens are shown in Figure 1.
    
    
    Figure 1 Micrographs of different quenched ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi specimens
    
    The impact abrasive wear test results of specimens quenched at different temperatures are shown in Table 2.It can be seen from the table that the wear area increases as the quenching temperature increases, while the wear volume decreases with increasing quenching temperature.
    
    Table 2.Impact abrasive wear test results of specimens quenched at different temperatures
    
    |Quenching Temperature|Ave. Wear Volume (cm³) |Ave. Wear Area (cm²) |
    |---------------------|--------------------------|------------------------|
    |600°C |0.99±0.04 |1.87±0.06 |
    |650°C |1.02±0.04 |2.22±0.07 |
    |700°C |0.88±0.03 |2.52±0.07 |
    |750°C |0.81±0.03 |2.76±0.08 |
    
    The effect of quenching temperature on the surface adhesion of specimens was studied. The results are shown in Figure 2. It can be seen that the adhesion of specimens quenched at 700°C and 750°C is smaller than that of specimens quenched at 600°C and 650°C. This indicates that the higher quenching temperatures improve the wear resistance of ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi.
    
    
    Figure 2 Effect of quenching temperature on the adhesion of ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi specimens
    
    Conclusion
    
    In summary, the impact abrasive wear properties of the ZG35Cr2NiMoVTi wear-resistant steel have been studied. It was found that the quenching temperature has a significant influence on the wear properties, with higher quenching temperatures improving the wear resistance. This study demonstrates the importance of quenching temperature in developing wear resistant materials.

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