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Deformation, Wear and Microstructural Evolution of Nano-structured Pearlite Under Repeated Contact Sliding

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Abstract

Refinement of lamellar spacing down to a few nano-meters in pearlitic steels offers a unique combination of high strength and toughness. The present work pertains to the tribological response of nano-structured pearlitic steels with varying lamellae spacing under repeated frictional sliding using a conical diamond tip. The wear response has been quantified through the friction, volume of groove formed by the indenter and deformation-induced structural changes with number of passes of sliding. Results indicate that the initial microstructure and mechanical properties have a profound impact on the wear resistance since these factors also govern the microstructural adaptability under repeated sliding. The finest lamellar spacing pearlite shows the least wear volume, lowest friction coefficient and the smallest deformation-affected zone.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. We also appreciate the provision of laboratory facilities by the Centre of Excellence in Steels (CoEST) and funding from Infrastructure in Science and Technology (SR/FST/ETII-023/2012(C)).

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  1. Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India

    Kushal Mishra, Abhishek Pachauri & Aparna Singh

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  1. Kushal Mishra
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Correspondence to Aparna Singh.

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Mishra, K., Pachauri, A. & Singh, A. Deformation, Wear and Microstructural Evolution of Nano-structured Pearlite Under Repeated Contact Sliding. Tribol Lett 66, 109 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-018-1064-4

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