Abstract:
High-chromium cast iron has been widely applied in mining, metallurgy, building materials and other industries due to its eutectic carbides of the (Cr, Fe)
7C
3 type with high hardness in the microstructure. To regulate the morphology of eutectic carbides and improve the wear resistance of high-chromium cast iron, the master alloy method was adopted, Al
2O
3 particles were introduced into hypoeutectic high-chromium cast iron, and rare earth elements were added externally. The effects of these two additives on the microstructure and wear resistance of high-chromium cast iron were systematically compared. The results showed that after the introduction of Al
2O
3 particles, a small number of particles were distributed in the dendrite trunks, while most adhered to the surfaces of eutectic M
7C
3 carbides between dendrites. By virtue of the heterogeneous nucleation effect of Al
2O
3 particles, the secondary dendrite arm spacing of the high-chromium cast iron containing Al
2O
3 was reduced by 24% compared with that of the non-added sample, and the area fraction of eutectic M
7C
3 was increased by 3%. The carbide morphology was presented as short and fine plate-like, strip-like and rose petal-like shapes, and the secondary carbides were also significantly refined. In high-chromium cast iron containing rare earth elements, the secondary dendrite arm spacing and secondary carbide size showed little difference from those of the sample containing Al
2O
3, but the proportion of fine rose petal-like eutectics was as high as 12%. Wear resistance tests indicated that the friction coefficient of high-chromium cast iron with externally added Al
2O
3 during the wear process was 0.27, and the wear scar depth was (5.34±0.05) μm. The friction coefficient and wear scar depth were reduced by 61% and 70%, respectively, compared with those of conventional high-chromium cast iron. Its wear mechanism was transformed from fatigue wear to abrasive wear and adhesive wear.After the addition of rare earth elements, the friction coefficient of high-chromium cast iron was further reduced to 0.26, and the wear scar depth was decreased to (1.84±0.17) μm. This excellent performance was closely related to the high proportion of rose petal-like eutectic M
7C
3 in the material.