Mechanical properties of AlXFeY intermetallics in Al-base coatings on steel 22MnB5 and resulting wear mechanisms at press-hardening tool steel surfaces

Hard and brittle intermetallic AlXFeY phases formed in the Al-base coating applied on high-strength steel 22MnB5 promote strong wear of press-hardening tools during forming and quenching (approx. 800-100 °C). In this study, bulk materials of the intermetallic phases Al13Fe4, Al5Fe2, Al2Fe, and AlFe were produced by remelting stoichiometric powder mixtures. These were then used for mechanical and wear investigations. We found that the dominating wear mechanisms on the tool steel surfaces are strongly influenced by the temperature and depend on the mechanical properties of the respective intermetallic phases. Phases of type Al13Fe4, Al5Fe2, and Al2Fe possess a high hardness of 850-1090 HV0.5 and a low fracture toughness of 0.9-1.6 MPa √ m at room temperature, whereas the AlFe phase has a much lower hardness (520 HV0.5) and a higher fracture toughness (26 MPa √ m ). The hardness of all phases decreases with increasing temperature. At high temperatures (500-800 °C), the intermetallic phases lead mainly to adhesive wear of the tool steel surfaces. At lower temperatures, also abrasive wear occurs due to delamination of hard and brittle intermetallic particles. We found that abrasive wear of the tool steel surface could be decreased by adapting the phase composition in the Al-base coating.