Experimental investigation of hardfaced martensitic steel under slurry abrasion conditions

Wear by slurry abrasion is a potential problem in engineering components subjected to particulate flow. The life of the components under slurry abrasive wear situations is primarily decided by operating conditions and the materials properties. Martensitic steels are widely used for abrasion resistant applications. The present work reports slurry abrasion response of hardfacing martensitic steel under a wide range of experimental conditions. The response data is generated using systematic and simultaneous variation of test parameters. The experiments were performed using silica sand slurry with different slurry concentration, particle size, sliding distance and load. The results of the investigation suggest that slurry concentration had relatively stronger effect than normal load. The wear volume loss exhibited an increasing trend with increasing severity of test parameters. An empirical equation is proposed to describe the interactive effect of the test parameters, abrasive particle properties and material property. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) studies revealed different morphology of the worn surfaces which was attributed to mild to severe slurry abrasion test conditions.