Effect of martensite volume fraction and abrasive particles size on friction and wear behaviour of a low alloy steel

•Low normal loads minimize the wear rate whereas high normal loads minimize the friction coefficient.•The lowest abrasive particle size minimizes the wear rate whereas an intermediate one minimizes the friction coefficient.•For coarse abrasive particles, the wear coefficient K of the Archard law depends on the martensite volume fraction.•The wear rate and the friction coefficient decrease with increasing the martensite volume fraction.•Conversely to the wear rate, for high normal loads, the friction coefficient becomes insensitive to the martensite volume fraction.

Friction tests between a ferrite-martensite dual phase steel, with different martensite volume fractions (48-98%), and an abrasive paper with different sizes (15-200 µm) under various normal loads (50-110 N) are performed.It is highlighted that low normal loads minimize the wear rate whereas high normal loads minimize the friction coefficient. The lowest abrasive particle size minimizes the wear rate whereas an intermediate one (35 µm) minimizes the friction coefficient. The wear rate and the friction coefficient decrease with increasing the martensite volume fraction. Conversely to the wear rate, for high normal loads, the friction coefficient becomes insensitive to the martensite volume fraction. It is also noticed that there are combined effects of martensite volume fraction and abrasive particle size on wear mechanisms.