Developing an Empirical Relationship to Predict the Wear Characteristics of Ni-Based Hardfaced Deposits on Nuclear Grade 316LN Austenitic Stainless Steel

Using the nickel-based Colmonoy 5 hardfacing alloy, components made of austenitic stainless steel (ASS) used in nuclear power plants can be hardfaced. Hardfacing is the process of applying complex and wear-resistant materials to substrates that require abrasion resistance. The tribological characteristics of a reactor-grade material NiCr-B hardfaced deposit were studied and reported in this paper. Hence, in this investigation, an effort has been made to develop empirical relationship to predict weight loss of laser hardfaced Ni-based alloy surface incorporating laser parameters using statistical tools such as design of experiments (DoE) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The developed empirical relationship can be effectively used to trail the weight loss (wear resistance) of laser hardfaced nickel alloy surfaces by altering laser parameters. This method has proven very effective. A power of 1300 W, powder feed rate of 9 g/min, travel speed of 350 mm/min, and defocusing distance of 32 mm were all combined to achieve a minimum weight loss of 0.0164 grams.

Wear behavior and microstructure of Fe-C-Si-Cr-B-Ni hardfacing alloys

This study aims to investigate the relationship between wear resistance and microstructure of a hardfacing alloy Fe-C-Si-Cr-B-Ni system as well as investigating ways of improving the hardness of the hard facing layer through the addition of nickel to achieve a finer granular microstructure. Three hardfacing alloys are used for overlaying. Ferroboron (FeB) and Ferronickel(FeNi), are added to the massive wire during the welding process. A hardness test, microscopic characterization and wear analysis are carried out on the samples. The surfaces of the samples are examined using scanning electron micsoscope in order to better understand the wear mechanism. At room temperature, wear occurs through a combination of abrasive grooving and local delamination. Microstructure and hardness affect the wear resistance of the alloys. Test results shows that as hardness increases, wear resistance increases.