EFFECT OF NIOBIUM AND VANADIUM AS AN ALLOYING ELEMENT IN TOOL STEELS WITH HIGH CHROMIUM CONTENT

There is a common wish to increase the wear resistance of cold work steel. The possibility to improve wear resistance by the addition o f m re alloying elements is limited, due to the loss of toughness. Therefore one tries to extend the weight percentage of alloying elements like niobium and vanadium which form very hard carbides. This paper will explain to which extent niobium and vanadium are suitable for this purpose and which other effects have to be considere d.