Brittle Fracture Generated by Abrasion Wear in Borided Low Carbon Steel

This work is related to failure as a consequence of brittle fracture by abrasion wear. The experimental evidence showed that this situation depends on the size and shape of the abrasive particles and their velocity when they are interacting against the abraded surface. The particle morphology determines the type of failure, in which the crack may propagate. This can be in a lateral and radial direction. Also this situation is observed in low carbon steel (AISI 8620) which has been borided previously. In accordance with the results, the strength is improved by: developing phases, varying thickness of the borided layer and increasing the hardness. At the same time, a hardness analysis of the borided steel and the abrasive surfaces was carried out. The hardness is the principal characteristic which increases the abrasion resistance and the borided improved resistant to wear. However, it has different behaviour according to the type mechanism of abrasion wear (two or three bodies). In the case of three bodies, it is necessary to take into account the superficial characteristic, because over rough surfaces, the hard particles deteriorate the surface of the specimen. On the other hand, on smooth borided surfaces, generally the particles slip without several damage.