Effect of microstructures with the same chemical composition and similar hardness levels on tribological behavior of a low alloy steel

For each hardness, compared to single-phase and multi-phase microstructures, dual-phase microstructures improve the tribological behavior. Among these microstructures, as martensite colonies become coarser and equiaxe, the tribological behavior is enhanced. Moreover, as hardness increases, friction coefficient and wear rate decrease for each microstructure whereas the microstructure effect on the tribological behavior is less pronounced. A transition in friction behavior and wear mechanisms is observed for an optimal particle size (CPS) around 35 μm.