Characteristics of high speed steel/ductile cast iron composite roll manufactured by electroslag remelting cladding

Abstract

In the present study, high-speed steel (HSS)/ductile cast iron (DCI) composite roll was manufactured by the electroslag remelting cladding (ESRC) technology. The compositional variation, grain size, microstructure, hardness, and tensile strength of the HSS layer and the bimetallic interface were investigated systematically. The obtained results illustrated that the chemical composition of the cladding layer (HSS) changed dramatically due to the surface melting of the roll core (DCI) and the mechanical mixing of the bimetallic liquids. The different solidification rates and chemical compositions in different regions of the HSS layer led to great variations of the grain size, the carbide content, and the hardness. In addition, a bimetallic transition zone (about 9.47 mm) was generated between the HSS layer and the DCI core due to the elemental migration and diffusion between the bimetals. Carbides of different types, morphologies, sizes, and compositions had direct influences on interfacial properties.