Dry sliding adhesive wear characteristics of Fe-based hardfacing alloys with different CeO2 additives – A statistical analysis

Abstract In the present investigation, four different rare earth (RE) additive iron-based hardfacing alloys were prepared by the shielded metal arc welding process with pre-placement technique. The objective was to examine the effect of dry sliding wear parameters and to develop a statistical regression model using full factorial approach. A regression equation was developed and validated with a number of test cases. The morphology of worn surfaces and corresponding wear debris was studied in order to examine the wear mechanism using SEM. The RE additive alloys exhibited a significant improvement in macrohardness and wear resistance. The microstructure was refined at first and then coarsened with the increase of RE additions. The optimal amount of RE was found to be 4 wt%.