Comparative Study of the Abrasive Wear Resistance of Hardfacing FeCrC, FeCrC + Nb, FeTiCW, and FeMn Coating

Abstract Coatings deposited on metal surfaces using the shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process are applied to optimize the service life of components used in the sugar, ethanol, and mining sectors. In this study, the micro-abrasive wear test by fixed ball and the rubber-wheel abrasion-wear test were performed on three types of hardfacing and an austenitic manganese steel coating deposited by SMAW on 1020 steel. The FeCrC + Nb exhibited the lowest hardness (569 HV) and the highest wear resistance. In general, FeTiCW showed the highest hardness (669 HV) and the lowest wear resistance among all the hardfacing studied, while FeCrC had 630 HV and showed intermediate wear resistance. The FeMn coating, with 201 HV and an austenitic matrix, showed the lowest wear resistance, which increased with increasing test load due to the mechanical hardening. The micro-abrasive wear test results indicated that the intermediate load was more severe than the test performed with a higher load. Despite the similarity, the cumulative rate of volumetric loss in the rubber-wheel abrasion-wear test showed that the coating microstructure influences the slight difference in wear behavior between the continuous and interrupted tests. It was concluded that the hardness property was not the most important factor for the wear behavior of the hardfacings, with a pronounced influence of the coating microstructure, and both types of wear tests showed similar wear trends for the coatings studied.