The Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on the Hardness, Friction and Wear Resistance of Austenitic Ductile Iron Type D3 Tool Steel

Investigations carried out in the recent few decades reveal the advantages of cryogenic treatment as one of the promising techniques to enhance wear resistance in certain tool steels. Thus the cryogenic treatment has significant influence on the tribological performance of tool steels. It is a one time permanent treatment process affecting the entire section of the part, unlike coatings. Enhancing the wear resistance and service life of the steel tools subjected to rubbing condition is of important concern. Literature provides information about the investigations performed on some high-speed steels which reveal remarkable improvement in wear resistance from 92% to 817%. Furthermore, the studies conducted on conventional D3 tool steel reveals the betterment of certain tribo-mechanical properties such as hardness and wear resistance. In the present investigation the effect of cryogenic treatment on austenitic ductile iron type D3 tool steel is studied by sliding the test specimen against the same mating material. The study reveals increase in hardness, reduction in friction coefficient and enhancement in wear resistance.