Effects of Mn addition on the two-body abrasive wear behavior of Fe-3.0Â wt% B alloy

Effects of Mn addition on the microstructure, mechanical properties and two-body wear behavior of Fe-3.0 wt% B alloy were systematically investigated. The result indicates that, with Mn addition ranging from 0 to 2.5 wt%, Mn atoms tend to aggregate in the boride; the phase composition and microstructure have little change; macrohardness of the heat treated alloy changes little, while the fracture toughness of Fe2B and wear resistance of the alloy can be improved. During the wear process, the boride brittleness does indispensable harm to wear resistance. By comparison, the alloy with 2.0 wt% Mn presents the best wear resistance and greatest boride toughness. In conclusion, the wear resistance improvement can be supposed to result from the fracture toughness improvement of the boride.