Investigation on the Microstructure‐Dependent Wear Resistance of a Fe–Al–C–V High Specific Young's Modulus Steel

A κ‐carbide‐reinforced high specific Young's modulus (HSYM) steel has been developed and explored in recent years, yet its service properties remain relatively unexplored. In this work, the wear resistance of a Fe – Al – C – V HSYM steel is experimentally investigated under hot‐rolled and divorced eutectoid transformation heat‐treated conditions. Tensile tests reveal that hot‐rolled (HR) sample exhibits superior surface hardness and yield strength, but limited ductility compared with divorced eutectoid transformation (DET) sample. Three‐body impact abrasion tests indicate that HR sample consistently demonstrates a lower mass loss and an enhanced wear resistance. This improved performance is primarily attributed to its higher surface hardness of 434 ± 18.7 HV and the closely spaced lamellar carbide network, which effectively resists abrasive particle embedding and delays material spalling. Conversely, DET sample, with spheroidized/short‐rod κ‐carbides, forms a deeper work‐hardened layer owing to greater plasticity, yet shows poorer wear resistance due to lower yield strength (540 ± 7.2 MPa) and diminished resistance to abrasive penetration. These findings underscore the critical role of microstructural design in optimizing the balance between strength–ductility and wear resistance in lightweight HSYM steels for automotive applications.