Microstructure and properties of (Ti, Cr) C reinforced novel medium manganese steel

Abstract

In the casting process, alloying elements Mo and Cr are needed to improve the wear resistance of medium manganese steels for low impact energy. The element Ti is added to avoid the high cost of expenditure for using Mo. This paper studies the effect of Ti and Cr on microstructure and properties of medium manganese steel. It shows that a large number of polygon, column, and square (Ti, Cr) C particles (<13 μm) are formed in the casting samples using the present heat treatment process. A new type of Ti–Cr modified medium manganese steel (Ti content of 0.56%–1.48%) is produced by using (Ti, Cr) C reinforced phase particles. Compared with the traditional medium manganese steel (blank), the hardness increases twice with a slight decrease in impact toughness [traditional and modified medium manganese steels (blank and steels A, B, and C) have values of 42.1 J/cm2, 47.5 J/cm2, 43.8 J/cm2, and 37.9 J/cm2], and the wear resistance also increased nearly two times.