Improvement of ductile iron wear resistance through local surface reinforcement

► Reinforcement of ductile iron through local alloying results in precipitation of carbides in the region surrounding the inserts and formation of a hard transition zone. ► Transition zone carries the load and improves wear resistance of ductile iron. ► Tribological properties of reinforced ductile iron can be further improved through subsequent austempering. However, selection of austempering temperature is very important. ► The best tribological results were obtained when using austempering at 350 °C, with reinforced ductile iron outperforming reference steels.