LAUSR

This paper presents a systematic study of the effect of the cerium oxide content on the mechanical, microstructural and tribological properties of iron-based alloys. The results indicate that the microstructure of the hardfaced alloys is mainly composed of austenite, MC and M7C3 carbides. The primary austenite grain size was refined at first and then coarsened with the increase of the rare earth oxide additions. Meanwhile, the hardness of the hardfacing alloy was also increased. The increased area fraction of carbides was found to be beneficial for enhanced wear resistance. A statistical regression model was developed and verified with a number of test cases in order to evaluate the adequacy of the model. The optimal amount of rare earth was found to be less than 6 wt.%; below this composition, the microstructural, mechanical and tribological properties were excellent.