Effects of vanadium content on the microstructure and dry sand abrasive wear of a eutectic Cr-Fe-C hardfacing alloy.

In this study, the effects of vanadium on the morphology and wear behavior of a eutectic Cr-Fe-C hardfacing alloy were discussed. The alloys tested contained different amounts of vanadium, ranging from 0 to 2.39 wt%. A fibrous VC was found when the alloy contained 0.93 wt% vanadium. The addition of vanadium was found to decrease the fraction of eutectic MC and increase the width of the interspaces between the eutectic cells. The DTA results revealed that VC formed just before the eutectic α+MC during solidification. The surface hardness was shown to increase with increasing vanadium content, which also caused the hardness deviation and wear loss to decrease; however, the addition of vanadium was not shown to affect the hardness of eutectic α+MC. The VC could be scratched off during the wear test due to the increase in the width of the interspaces between the eutectic cells; therefore, the alloys that contained 0.93 and 2.39 wt% vanadium exhibited similar wear loss results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]