Abrasive wear is a costly and serious problem in the mining and mineral processing industries [1]. As a consequence, it is necessary to design materials that offer an attractive combination of price and industrial output. A couple of good examples are the ex-situ and in-situ methods of fabricating local composite reinforcements in castings [2]. Metal-matrix composites (MMCs) based on Fe alloys reinforced with ceramic particles are characterized by good mechanical properties and high wear resistance [3]. The most common ceramic materials used to reinforce various types of Fe alloys are Al2O3, ZrO2, TiN, B4C, WC, and VC [4]. In this work, authors present the method of manufacturing composite castings reinforced by ceramic preforms. Materials for the ceramic reinforcement were selected based on the results of high wettability examinations. The ceramic preforms are made from oxide ceramic in the form of ZrO2 and Al2O3. A readied reinforcement in the form of skeletons was fixed in a mold cavity and poured by ferrous alloy (cast steel and white chromium cast iron). The samples taken from the local composite reinforcement region were analyzed, considering their microstructure, chemical composition, mechanical properties, and wear resistance. Observation of the castings in the macro scale confirmed a high quality of obtained ex-situ composite zones. The microstructure analysis revealed the ceramic structure`s infiltration by liquid metal (cast steel and white chromium cast iron). The transition area between a ceramic phase and metal matrix alloy was free of discontinuities in both cases. Observation of the local composite zones type ZrO2/white chromium cast iron carried by scanning electron microscope indicated for a reaction between reinforcement and matrix. A complex phase was identified within transition areas noted at the metal matrix/reinforcement interface. These areas contain Zr, Al, Mg, Mn, Fe and Cr. Mechanical tests showed an almost twofold increase in the hardness within the area of the composite zones as compared to the base alloy. The wear properties of MMC zones were examined by two methods: ball on disc and Miller test. The abrasive wear in the Miller test (abrasive wear in the slurry) indicated less than half of the weight loss as compared to the carbon cast steel and white chromium cast iron. The wear index of the MMC was determined by the ball-on-disc (dry sliding wear) method was at least 50% lower as compared to the monolithic matrix of the composite castings.

References

[1] J. Rendon, M. Olsson Wear, 2009, 267, 2055-2061.

[2] Y. Wang, L. Fan, H. Chen Materials Today Communications, 2023, 35, 105689.

[3] E. Olejnik, L. Szymanski, P. Batog, T. Tokarski, P. Kurtyka Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2020, 275, 116157.

[4] A.K. Srivastava, K. Das Materials Science Engineering A, 2009, 516, 1-6.