Influence of morphology of carbide phase in chromium cast iron on wear resistance

The article presents results of M₇C₃ carbides stereological parameters measurement and wear tests of chromium cast irons. There are two types of material were compared: not inoculated chromium cast iron and the same material about 4% addition of titanium by weight. The samples for studies were taken from casting formed by pouring into ATD-Is tester mould. Then they were properly prepared for testing. Stereological analysis was conducted in ImageJ software, where the following parameters of carbides was measured: area, width, length, perimeter, and circularity. Wear test was executed using pin-on-disk method on Tribotester 3-POD. Results of research shown that Ti addition results in formation of TiC carbide, which is an underlay for crystallization of M₇C₃ carbides. The effect of this was the finer grain of M₇C₃ and the lower weight losses during abrasion.