The effect of the austenitisation temperaturefor the two-stage heat treatment of high-manganesesteels on its wear resistance under abrasiveconditions

Abstract

Fine-grained high-manganese X120Mn12 grade steel was subjected to a two-stage heat treatment consisting oflong-term isothermal annealing at 510C, which was followed by resaturation in order to reduce the negativeeffect of the brittle carbide carbides of manganese cementite (Fe,Mn)3C. The objective of the experimentwas to elucidate the effects of distinct stages of heat treatment on the properties of high manganese steelwith regard to its resistance to abrasive wear. Supersaturation was performed for eleven different variationsof temperature values ranging from 600C to 1100C to verify its effect on the resistance to abrasion wearunder abrasion conditions. An increase in the supersaturation temperature results in the gradual coagulationand disintegration of the colonies of pearlite and needle-like carbides (Fe,Mn)3C formed during isothermalannealing. At the same time, as a result of the PSN (particle stimulated nucleation) process, the microstructureof austenite undergoes partial refinement, which ultimately increases the resistance to abrasive wear. As aresult of the final microstructural changes resulted in an increase in the resistance to abrasion of approximately6% compared to the initial state.