Effect of surface state on wear performance of low alloy high strength marine steel

Abstract For ships sailing in polar ice regions, the marine steel not only has to be safely served at low temperatures but also may be abraded by hard sea ice. However, marine steel is inevitably affected by corrosion in seawater whose surface state and oxide type have a great influence on wear performance. To study the influence of the surface state on the wear performance of low alloy high-strength marine steel, the 460 MPa class high-strength marine steel was used as the research object to test the strength and plastic of the material. Further, γ-FeOOH oxide layer steel sample, untreated steel sample, and Fe 3 O 4 oxide layer steel sample were prepared. The light interferometer and scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the microstructure morphology and wear scar morphology of the different steel samples. The test results show that different surface states have a great influence on the wear properties of Marine steel. The Fe 3 O 4 steel sample with a dense and complete oxide layer has the lowest wear amount, its wear marks are the shiniest and narrowest, and the surface is mainly adhesive abrasion. The largest amount of wear is the relatively loose structure γ-FeOOH oxide steel sample, which has the smallest friction coefficient, its wear mechanism is mainly abrasive wear, and the surface has more furrows and pits. The wear resistance of untreated steel samples was between the above two.