Grzegorz Tęcza
J. Min. Metall. Sect. B-Metall., 62 (2) (2026) 163-176. DOI:10.2298/JMMB251105013T
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Available online 10 jun 2026
(Received 05 November 2025; Accepted 08 June 2026)
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A widely used material for parts and components of machines operating under abrasive wear is cast alloyed steel with medium to high carbon content, which provides sufficient hardness, along with the addition of elements such as Cr, Mn, Si, Ni, and Mo. To improve the abrasive wear resistance of the tested alloys, carbide-forming elements such as vanadium were introduced in amounts of about 18 wt.% during melting. One melt, with a total carbon content ranging from 3.4 to 3.9 wt.%, also contained 4.5 wt.% W. The measured hardness of the tested samples in the alloy with 3.4 wt% carbon, 17.7 wt% V, and 4.5 wt% W was approximately 535 HV in the as-cast state and increased to approximately 665 HV after quenching. The highest hardness was obtained for an alloy containing 3.9 wt% C and 17.9 wt% V. In the as-cast state, the hardness of this alloy was 850 HV increasing to 950 HV after quenching from 880 °C and cooling in a 15% Polihartenol HI polymer solution. The microstructure of the test castings consisted of a martensitic matrix with low amounts of retained austenite, characterized by the presence of lamellar carbides with a spherical cross-section, evenly distributed in the alloy matrix. In most cases, these were M2C carbides, though in alloys with vanadium and tungsten, complex carbides of the (V,W)xCy type were also observed. The highest resistance to abrasive wear, approximately 950 HV, was achieved in a martensitic alloy with 17.9 wt% V and 0.1 wt% W, quenched from 880 °C and cooled in a 15% Polihartenol HI polymer solution. Its weight loss was half that of the reference cast GX70CrMnSiNiMo2 steel.
Keywords: Abrasive wear; Martensitic alloy; Microstructure; Vanadium carbides; Heat treatment; Hardness
Correspondence Address:
Grzegorz Tęcza,
AGH University of Krakow, Faculty of Foundry Engineering, Kraków, Poland;
email: tecza@agh.edu.pl
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