Effect of interlamellar spacing on the wear resistance of eutectoid steels under rolling-sliding conditions

Abstract The influence of the mean true interlamellar pearlite spacing on the wear behavior of eutectoid steels under rolling-sliding line contact has been investigated. A spacing range of 118–450 nm was achieved by carrying out isothermal heat treatments on two medium carbon steels, one a plain carbon steel and the other containing small additions of chromium and molybdenum. The relationship between wear rate and interlamellar spacing ( S ) was not affected by the small compositional differences but did depend on hertzian contact pressure. A progressive pattern of behavior was observed in which the wear rate was proportional to S 0.47 at 1220 N mm −2 and to S 1.33 at 500 N mm −2 . The mechanism of wear generated by the high slide-roll ratio used in these experiments, the nature and influence of the initial break-in period, and the reproducibility of test data are also addressed.