Wear behavior of powder metallurgy tool steel M3/2 reinforced with niobium carbide by "pin-on-disk" test

Abstract

In this work, composite materials M3/2 high-speed steel reinforced with 5,10 and 15 %, in volume, of niobium carbide have been obtained to improve the wear behaviour. The materials were prepared by powder metallurgy using steel and carbide powders that were mechanically ball milled in a planetary mill, and then hot isostatically pressed. The wear behaviour was determined by pin-on-disk tests. The materials present a microstructure consisting of grains with a few microns in size and fine MC and M₆C particles homogeneously dispersed in its interior. In the case of reinforced materials, reinforcing carbides particles are placed mainly at the surface of the prior steel powder particle boundaries. The wear behaviour was evaluated from friction and wear coefficients, and also from weight loss. The addition of niobium carbide improves the wear properties of the tool steel in both martensitic and tempered conditions. A decrease of the weight loss and the wear coefficient is observed with increasing volume fraction of NbC