Microstructural analysis and tribology behavior of a medium-Mn steel with Mo

Abstract

This paper presents an alternative to the materials traditionally used in the manufacture of coal mills for coating wedges. For this purpose, we designed and tested ten new austenitic steels with medium manganese content. The thermal structural stability and hardness were evaluated after different heat treatments. The steels were subjected to hyperquenching and tempering between 100 and 900°C. A metallographic analysis of each sample was then performed to determine their thermal stability, and the Brinell hardness was measured. Later, wedges of two alternatives and reference-material alloys were manufactured and installed in three types of mills. Their mass loss was determined after 25 months and at an intermediate time during that period. One steel was selected as an alternative material.