Effect of Aluminum on the Structural Transitions and the Wear Resistance of Hadfield Steel under Friction

The structural transitions and tribological properties of carbon-containing high-manganese aluminum-doped austenitic steels tested under different dry-conditions of sliding friction have been considered. The methods used for the structural study of steels are metallography, X-ray diffraction analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. It has been shown that the doping of the studied steels with aluminum taken in the amount of 1.2 wt % significantly increases their resistance to abrasive wear, and especially adhesive wear (up to 20 times). It has been hypothesized that the observed positive effect of aluminum on the wear resistance of austenitic steels is due to the activation of the planar dislocation sliding mechanism, which increases the dispersion of nanocrystals and, correspondingly, the hardness of the surface layer of steels under the conditions of nanostructuring rotational strain by means of friction.