Microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear resistance of VC_p-reinforced Fe-matrix composites treated by Q&P process

Abstract

A quenching and partitioning (Q&P) process was applied to vanadium carbide particle (VCp)-reinforced Fe-matrix composites (VC-Fe-MCs) to obtain a multiphase microstructure comprising VC, V₈C₇, M₃C, α-Fe, and γ-Fe. The effects of the austenitizing temperature and the quenching temperature on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear resistance of the VC-Fe-MCs were studied. The results show that the size of the carbide became coarse and that the shape of some particles began to transform from diffused graininess into a chrysanthemum-shaped structure with increasing austenitizing temperature. The microhardness decreased with increasing austenitizing temperature but substantially increased after wear testing compared with the microhardness before wear testing; the microhardness values improved by 20.0% ± 2.5%. Retained austenite enhanced the impact toughness and promoted the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect to improve wear resistance under certain load conditions.

Keywords

vanadium carbide / Fe-matrix composites / quenching and partitioning process / transformation-induced plasticity effect / microhardness / impact toughness / wear resistance

References

[1] Wu L.L., Yao T.K., Wang Y.C., Zhang J.W., Xiao F.R., Liao B. Understanding the mechanical properties of vanadium carbides: Nano-indentation measurement and first-principles calculations. J. Alloys Compd., 2013, 548, 60.

[2] Zhang B., Li Z.Q. Synthesis of vanadium carbide by mechanical alloying. J. Alloys Compd., 2005, 392(1-2): 183.

[3] Shah S.V., Dahotre N.B. Laser surface-engineered vanadium carbide coating for extended die life. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2002, 124(1-2): 105.

[4] Liu H.L., Zhu J.C., Liu Y., Lai Z.H. irst-principles study on the mechanical properties of vanadium carbides VC and V4C3. Mater. Lett., 2008, 62(17-18): 3084.

[5] Euh K., Lee S., Choo S. Microstructural analysis of vanadium carbide/steel surface-alloyed materials fabricated by high-energy electron-beam irradiation. Metall. Mater. Trans.A., 2000, 31(11): 2849.

[6] Helden G.V., van Heijnsbergen D., Duncan M.A., Meijer G. IR-REMPI of vanadium-carbide nanocrystals: Ideal versus truncated lattices. Chem. Phys. Lett., 2001, 333(5): 350.

[7] Zhang H., Zou Y., Zou Z.D., Zhao W. Comparative study on continuous and pulsed wave fiber laser cladding in-situ titanium-vanadium carbides reinforced Fe-based composite layer. Mater. Lett., 2015, 139, 255.

[8] Wang Y., Ding Y.C., Jing W., Cheng F.J., Shi J. In situ production of vanadium carbide particulates reinforced iron matrix surface composite by cast-sintering. Mater. Design., 2007, 28(7): 2202.

[9] Ma J.H., Wu M.N., Du Y.H., Chen S.Q., Ye J., Jin L.L. Low temperature synthesis of vanadium carbide (VC). Mater. Lett., 2009, 63(11): 905.

[10] Cao H.T., Dong X.P., Pan Z., Wu X.W., Huang Q.W., Pei Y.T. Surface alloying of high-vanadium high-speed steel on ductile iron using plasma transferred arc alloying technique: Microstructure and wear properties. Mater. Design., 2016, 100, 223.

[11] Di X.J., Li M., Yang Z.W., Wang B.S., Guo X.J. Microstructural evolution, coarsening behavior of vanadium carbide and mechanical properties in the simulated heat-affected zone of modified medium manganese steel. Mater. Design., 2016, 96, 232.

[12] Rakhshtadt A.G., Lanskaya K.A., Suleimanov N.M., Katkova L.V. Effect of heat treatment on conditions of formation, shape, and stability of vanadium carbides in vanadium steels. Met. Sci. Heat Treat., 1975, 17(6): 477.

[13] Wang J., Lu H., Yu B., Wang R.F., Hua G.M., Yan X.G., Parent L., Tian H., Chung R., Li D.Y. Explore the electron work function as a promising indicative parameter for supplementary clues towards tailoring of wear-resistant materials. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2016, 669, 396.

[14] Wei S.Z., Zhu J.H., Xu L.J. Research on wear resistance of high speed steel with high vanadium content. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2005, 404(1-2): 138.

[15] Wei S.Z., Zhu J.H., Xu L.J. Effects of vanadium and carbon on microstructures and abrasive wear resistance of high speed steel. Tribol. Int., 2006, 39(7): 641.

[16] Zhong L.S., Ye F.X., Xu Y.H., Li J.S. Microstructure and abrasive wear characteristics of in situ vanadium carbide particulate-reinforced iron matrix composites. Mater. Design., 2014, 54, 564.

[17] Yan S., Liu X.H., Liu W.J., Lan H.F., Wu H.Y. Comparison on mechanical properties and microstructure of a C-Mn-Si steel treated by quenching and partitioning (Q&P) and quenching and tempering (Q&T) processes. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2015, 620, 58.

[18] Gao G.H., An B.F., Zhang H., Guo H.R., Gui X.L., Bai B. Concurrent enhancement of ductility and toughness in an ultrahigh strength lean alloy steel treated by bainite-based quenching-partitioning-tempering process. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2017, 702, 104.

[19] Boettcher S., Böhm M., Wolff M. Well-posedness of a thermo-elasto-plastic problem with phase transitions in TRIP steels under mixed boundary conditions. ZAMM-Z. Angew. Math. Me., 2016, 95(12): 1461.

[20] Ramazani A., Quade H., Abbasi M., Prahl U. The effect of martensite banding on the mechanical properties and formability of TRIP steels. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2016, 651, 160.

[21] Luo L., Li W., Wang L., Zhou S., Jin X. Tensile behaviors and deformation mechanism of a medium Mn-TRIP steel at different temperatures. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2016, 682, 698.

[22] Li Z.C., Ding H., Misra R.D.K., Cai Z.H. Microstructure-mechanical property relationship and austenite stability in medium-Mn TRIP steels: The effect of austenite-reverted transformation and quenching-tempering treatments. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2017, 682, 211.

[23] Jacques P.J., Furnémont Q., Lani F., Pardoen T., Delannay F. Multiscale mechanics of TRIP-assisted multiphase steels: I. Characterization and mechanical testing. Acta Mater., 2007, 55(11): 3681.

[24] Li Z.C., Ding H., Misra R.D.K., Cai Z.H., Li H.X. Microstructural evolution and deformation behavior in the Fe-(6, 8.5)Mn-3Al-0.2C TRIP steels. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2016, 672, 161.

[25] Zhou J.P., Shimizu K., Cai Q.Z. Effects of Cr content and annealing temperature on microstructure and wear characteristics of cast ausferrite nodular iron. J. Iron. Steel Res. Int., 2015, 22(11): 1049.

[26] Chong X.Y., Jiang Y.H., Zhou R., Feng J. The effects of ordered carbon vacancies on stability and thermo-mechanical properties of V₈C₇ compared with VC. Sci. Rep., 2016, 6, 34007.

[27] Torralba J.M., Navarro A., Campos M. From the TRIP effect and Quenching and Partitioning steels concepts to the development of new high-performance, lean powder metallurgy steels. Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 2013, 573, 253.