Solid particle erosion behavior of carbidic austempered ductile iron modified by nanoscale ceria particles

• Solid particle erosion behavior of CADI containing nano-ceria was evaluated.
• Ceria nanoparticles effectively improved the erosion resistance of CADI.
• Stress-induced martensitic transition was suppressed by nano-ceria.
• Refined carbides reduced the possibility of crush, spalling and crack initiation.
• Refined carbides and reduced martensitic transition retained the toughness of CADI.

In this study, the solid-particle erosion behavior of carbidic austempered ductile iron (CADI) containing different amounts of ceria nanoparticles was investigated. Attempt was made to correlate the erosion resistance of the material to its microstructure and mechanical properties. It was demonstrated that the erosion resistance of CADI was improved by adding ceria nanoparticles. The maximum erosion rate of unmodified CADI occurred at the impact angle of 60–75°, which slightly shifted to lower angles when ceria nanoparticles were added, corresponding to more ductile characteristic. During erosion tests, the retained austenite in CADI partially transformed to martensite although the transformation was suppressed by the addition of ceria nanoparticles. The ceria-modified CADI showed a considerably increased erosion resistance at various impact angles.