Correlating microstructural features with wear resistance of dual phase steel

In order to explore the tribological potential of the dual phase (DP) steel as a wear resistant material, the wear characteristics of the dual phase (DP) steel have been investigated with varying amounts of martensite from 43 to 81 vol pct, developed by varying holding time at the intercritical annealing temperature of 780 °C. Dry sliding wear tests have been conducted on DP steels using a pin-on-disk machine under different normal loads of 61.3, 68.5, 75.7 and 82.6 N and at a constant sliding speed of 1.20 m/s. At these loads, the mechanism of wear is mainly delamination, which has been confirmed by SEM micrographs of the subsurface and wear debris of the samples. Wear and friction properties have been found to be improved with increasing martensite volume fraction in dual phase steels.