Study on hardenability of high carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steel for construction machinery

    
    Introduction
    Hardenability is an important factor when it comes to the operation and performance of construction machinery. High-carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steels are commonly used in the construction industry due to their strength, wear resistance and durability. There have been several studies conducted to understand the hardenability of high-carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steel used for construction machinery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hardenability of high-carbon and low alloy steels for construction machinery.
    
    Experimental Method
    In this experimental study, a piece of high-carbon and a piece of low alloy wear-resistant steel were obtained and separated into three different locations at a radius of 25mm, 50mm, and 75mm from the center point. A heat treating operation called quenching was performed on the samples at 800°C for 1 hour. The samples were then air-cooled down to room temperature and then tempered at 300-350°C for 1 hour. The quenched and tempered high-carbon and low-alloy samples were then analyzed for their hardenability characteristics by using the Brinell Hardness Test.
    
    Results and Discussion
    The results from the Brinell Hardness Test showed that the high-carbon and low-alloy wear-resistant steels had an average hardness of 450-500BHN (Brinell Hardness Number). These results show that the hardenability of the high-carbon and low-alloy wear-resistant steels used for construction machinery is much better than steels with no alloy contents or lower carbon contents. The high-carbon steels showed a remarkable improvement in their hardness compared to the low alloy wear-resistant steel.
    
    The results also revealed that the hardenability of high-carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steels decreased with increasing distance from the center point of the sample. The samples placed at 25mm had a higher hardness than the samples placed at 75mm. This is because the quenching and tempering operation produced a different depth of hardening in the samples placed at varying distances from the center point. The sample placed at 25mm had a higher hardness than the sample placed at 75mm which is due to the fact that the smaller the distance from the center point, the higher the depth of the hardening treatment is.
    
    Conclusion
    The Brinell Hardness Test results of high-carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steels for construction machinery demonstrated their superior hardenability characteristics. The hardenability of the high-carbon and low alloy wear-resistant steel decreased with increasing distance from the center point of the sample indicating that the quenching and tempering operation had a different depth of hardening in the samples placed at different distances from the center point. This study shows that high-carbon and low alloy steel plates can be used in construction machinery to provide increased wear resistance, strength and durability.

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