Effect of boron content and quenching temperature on the microstructure and wear resistance of high boron steel

Han Wang; Hanguang Fu

doi:10.1515/mt-2024-0231

Article

Effect of boron content and quenching temperature on the microstructure and wear resistance of high boron steel

Han Wang
Han Wang, born in 2000, is a master candidate of Beijing University of Technology, China. He obtained his bachelor degree at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Yanshan University in 2022. His research interests mainly focus on metal wear–resistant material.
and Hanguang Fu
Prof. Dr. Hanguang Fu, born in 1964, is a Professor at Beijing University of Technology, China. He obtained his PhD at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2004. His research interests mainly focus on material processing and solidification technology. By now, he has published over 280 technical papers and holds more than 150 invention patents in China.

Published/Copyright: November 6, 2024

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information

From the journal Materials Testing Volume 66 Issue 12

Abstract

This article investigates the change rule of the microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of high boron steel containing 0.1 wt.% to 0.5 wt.% boron in the cast state and after quenching at different temperatures. The results show that the microstructure of cast high boron steel with different contents of boron is composed of pearlite, ferrite and eutectic boride, which has lower hardness and wear resistance, and the higher the content of boron, the higher the hardness and the better the wear resistance. After quenching at 900–1,000 °C, pearlite and ferrite change into a large number of lamellar martensite and a small amount of lath martensite. After high-temperature quenching at 1,050 °C, retained austenite appears in the microstructure in addition to martensite, and borides are partially dissolved. The hardness and wear resistance are significantly improved compared to the as-cast high boron steel. As the quenching temperature increases, the dissolution of boride is obvious, the hardness and wear resistance are firstly increased and then decreased. When the content of boron is 0.5 wt.% and the quenching temperature is 1,000 °C, the hardness reaches a maximum value of 59.0 HRC, and the abrasion resistance is the best.

Keywords: high boron steel; quenching temperature; microstructure; hardness; wear resistance

Corresponding author: Hanguang Fu, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100022, China, E-mail: hgfu@bjut.edu.cn

Funding source: Hebei Science and Technology Major Project

Award Identifier / Grant number: 22281005Z

About the authors

Han Wang

Han Wang, born in 2000, is a master candidate of Beijing University of Technology, China. He obtained his bachelor degree at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Yanshan University in 2022. His research interests mainly focus on metal wear–resistant material.

Hanguang Fu

Prof. Dr. Hanguang Fu, born in 1964, is a Professor at Beijing University of Technology, China. He obtained his PhD at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2004. His research interests mainly focus on material processing and solidification technology. By now, he has published over 280 technical papers and holds more than 150 invention patents in China.

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study, or their legal guardians or wards.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: The authors would like to thank the financial support for this work from Hebei Science and Technology Major Project (22281005Z).
Data availability: Not applicable.

References

[1] Q. S. Luo, J. Q. Xie, and Y. P. Song, “Effects of microstructures on the abrasive wear behaviour of spheroidal cast iron,” Wear, vol. 184, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 1995. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1648(94)06499-7.Search in Google Scholar

[2] H. H. Chen, J. D. Xing, and W. Li, Application Handbook of Wear Resistant Materials, Beijing, China Machine Press, 2006.Search in Google Scholar

[3] Ö. Z. Taslicukur, “Wear behavior and microstructure of Fe-C-Si-Cr-B-Ni hardfacing alloys,” Mater. Test., vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 231–234, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1515/MT-2020-0033.Search in Google Scholar

[4] Benxi Iron and Steel Company, First Steelmaking Plant. Boron Steel, Beijing, Metallurgical Industry Press, 1977, pp. 2–10.Search in Google Scholar

[5] S. Sen, U. Sen, and C. Bindal, “The growth kinetics of borides formed on boronized AlSI 4140 steel,” Vacuum, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 195–202, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2004.09.005.Search in Google Scholar

[6] C. Y. Hsu, J. W. Yeh, S. K. Chen, and T. T. Shun, “Wear resistance and high-temperature compression strength of FCC CuCoNiCrAl0.5Fe alloy with boron addition,” Metall. Mater. Trans. A, vol. 35A, no. 5, pp. 1465–1469, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-004-0254-x.Search in Google Scholar

[7] P. Christodoulou and N. Calos, “A step towards designing Fe–Cr–B–C cast alloys,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A, vol. 301, no. 2, pp. 103–117, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01808-6.Search in Google Scholar

[8] S. Q. Ma, J. D. Xing, Y. L. He, H. G. Fu, Y. F. Li, and G. Z. Liu, “Effect of orientation and lamellar spacing of Fe2B on interfaces and corrosion behavior of Fe-B alloy in hot-dip galvanization,” Acta Mater., vol. 115, pp. 392–402, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.06.016.Search in Google Scholar

[9] Y. X. Jian, Z. F. Huang, J. D. Xing, and B. Y. Wang, “Effects of chromium addition on fracture toughness and hardness of oriented bulk Fe2B crystals,” Mater. Charact., vol. 110, pp. 138–144, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2015.10.017.Search in Google Scholar

[10] M. S. Li, S. L. Fu, W. D. Xu, R. L. Zhang, and R. H. Yu, “Valence electron structure of Fe2B phase and its intrinsic brittleness,” J. Metals, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 201–208, 1995.Search in Google Scholar

[11] S. Ugur, S. Saduman, K. Sakip, and Y. Fevzi, “Fracture toughness of borides formed on boronized ductile iron,” Mater. Des., vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 175–179, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2004.05.015.Search in Google Scholar

[12] Ö. F. Murathan, K. Kocatepe, and M. Erdoğan, “Impact toughness improvement of high boron-chromium steel by different isothermal heat treatment durations,” Mater. Test., vol. 65, no. 7, pp. 1015–1024, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1515/MT-2022-0377.Search in Google Scholar

[13] S. Q. Ma, et al.., “Effect of chromium concentration on microstructure and properties of Fe–3.5B alloy,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A, vol. 527, no. 26, pp. 6800–6808, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2010.07.066.Search in Google Scholar

[14] K. M. Li, Z. F. Huang, Y. X. Jian, T. Min, X. F. Lou, and S. F. Wang, “Friction and wear behavior of single-phase Fe2B bulk under dry sliding condition,” Tribol. Trans., vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 513–521, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402004.2017.1363929.Search in Google Scholar

[15] J. Ju, H. G. Fu, and Y. P. Lei, “Effect of Al addition on microstructure and properties of an Fe-B-Al alloy,” Mater. Test., vol. 58, no. 9, pp. 753–762, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3139/120.110912.Search in Google Scholar

[16] Y. X. Jian, et al.., “Effect of improving Fe2B toughness by chromium addition on the two-body abrasive wear behavior of Fe-3.0 wt.% B cast alloy,” Tribol. Int., vol. 101, pp. 331–339, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2016.05.009.Search in Google Scholar

[17] Y. X. Jian, Z. F. Huang, J. D. Xing, X. Z. Guo, Y. Wang, and Z. Lv, “Effects of Mn addition on the two-body abrasive wear behavior of Fe-3.0 wt.% B alloy,” Tribol. Int., vol. 103, pp. 243–251, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2016.07.008.Search in Google Scholar

[18] Z. G. Chen, S. Miao, L. N. Kong, X. Wei, F. H. Zhang, and H. B. Yu, “Effect of Mo concentration on the microstructure evolution and properties of high boron cast steel,” Materials, vol. 13, no. 4, p. 975, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040975.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

[19] D. W. Yi, J. D. Xing, Z. Y. Zhang, H. G. Fu, and C. Y. Yang, “Effect of titanium and nitrogen additions on the microstructures and three-body abrasive wear behaviors of Fe–B cast alloys,” Tribol. Lett., vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 107–117, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-014-0314-3.Search in Google Scholar

[20] D. W. Yi, et al.., “Investigations on microstructures and three-body abrasive wear behaviors of Fe–B cast alloy containing cerium,” Tribol. Lett., vol. 58, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-015-0501-x, 2.Search in Google Scholar PubMed

[21] Z. F. Huang, J. D. Xing, and L. L. Lv, “Effect of tungsten addition on the toughness and hardness of Fe 2 B in wear-resistant Fe–B–C cast alloy,” Mater. Charact., vol. 75, pp. 63–68, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2012.09.007.Search in Google Scholar

[22] National Technical Committee for Steel Standardisation, “Test methods for wear tests of metallic materials sliding wear tests of test rings and test blocks,” GB/T 12444-2006, 2006.Search in Google Scholar

[23] H. G. Fu, “Solidification organization of high boron and low carbon iron-based alloys,” J. Heat Treat. Mater., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 63-66+140-141, 2006. https://doi.org/10.13289/j.issn.1009-6264.2006.02.016.Search in Google Scholar

[24] L. Zhu, D. H. Liu, and B. Shao, “Effect of boron content on microstructure and mechanical properties of high boron medium carbon alloy steel,” Found. Technol., vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 878–880, 2014.Search in Google Scholar

[25] J. Lu, et al.., “Order-disorder transition in a two-dimensional boron-carbon-nitride alloy,” Nat. Commun., vol. 4, no. 1, p. 2681, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3681.Search in Google Scholar PubMed

[26] S. D. Ma, J. J. Zhang, and S. Q. Ma, “Abrasion wear behavior of a forged and unforged Fe-B alloy,” Mater. Test., vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 127–132, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3139/120.110834.Search in Google Scholar

[27] H. G. Fu, X. D. Song, and Y. P. Lei, “Effect of homogenization temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of low-carbon high-boron cast steel,” Metals Mater. Int., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 345–352, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-009-0345-8.Search in Google Scholar

[28] S. H. Cui, C. L. Wu, and Z. T. Yuan, “Effect of quenching temperature on the structure and mechanical properties of boron-containing iron-based wear-resistant alloy,” Thermal Process. Technol., vol. 47, no. 8, p. 126–128+137, 2018. https://doi.org/10.14158/j.cnki.1001-3814.2018.08.033.Search in Google Scholar

[29] Y. Z. Zhou and X. M. Gong, Metal Wear-Resistant Materials and Their Alloying, Hubei Province, China, Huazhong University of Technology Press, 1992.Search in Google Scholar

[30] G. Z. Jiang and W. H. Xiang, “Effect of heat treatment on the organization and wear resistance of high boron low carbon cast steel,” Found. Technol., vol. 38, no. 10, pp. 2389–2392, 2017. https://doi.org/10.16410/j.issn1000-8365.2017.10.019.Search in Google Scholar

[31] Z. Q. Jiang, X. L. Feng, and J. F. Shi, “Influence of heat treatment on structures and mechanical properties of cast Fe-B-C alloy,” Adv. Mater. Res., vol. 29, no. 33–37, pp. 459–462, 2008. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.33-37.459.Search in Google Scholar

[32] X. M. Li, Y. P. Ma, and Y. R. Cui, “Effect of quenching temperature on wear resistance of high boron cast steel,” Thermal Process. Technol., vol. 36, no. 18, p. 71–72+84, 2007. https://doi.org/10.14158/j.cnki.1001-3814.2007.18.024.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2024-11-06

Published in Print: 2024-12-17

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2024-0231

Keywords for this article

high boron steel; quenching temperature; microstructure; hardness; wear resistance