Effect of microstructure on the oxidative wear behavior of plain carbon steel

According to explore the tribological potential of the dual phase (DP) steel as wear resistant material, the wear and friction characteristics of this steel, which consists of hard martensite island embedded in a ductile ferrite matrix, have been investigated and compared with those observed in plane carbon normalized (N) and hardened (H) steels with the same composition of 0.2 wt.% carbon. Dry sliding wear tests have been conducted using a pin-on-disk machine under different normal loads of 21.3, 28.5, 35.7 and 42.6 N and at a constant sliding speed of 1.20 m/s. The analysis of surface and wear debris of specimens showed that wear mechanism was mainly mild oxidative. The friction, wear rate and wear coefficient of the steels, have been explained with respect to microstructure and the wear mechanism.