Improvement in Abrasion Wear Resistance and Microstructural Changes with Deep Cryogenic Treatment of Austempered Ductile Cast Iron (ADI)

The application of a deep cryogenic treatment during the heat-treatment processes for different types of steels has demonstrated a significant influence on their mechanical and tribological properties. A great deal of research was conducted on steels, as well as on other kinds of materials, such as hard metal, gray cast iron, aluminum, aluminum alloys, etc., but not on austempered ductile iron (ADI). In this research the influence of a deep cryogenic treatment on the microstructure and abrasive wear resistance of austempered ductile iron was investigated. The ductile cast iron was austempered at the upper ausferritic temperature, deep cryogenically treated, and afterwards tempered at two different temperatures. The abrasion wear resistance was tested using the standard ASTM G65 method. The microstructure was characterized using optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction, and X-ray diffraction in order to define the microstructural changes that influenced the properties of the ADI. The obtained results show that the deep cryogenic treatment, in combination with different tempering temperatures, affects the matrix microstructure of the austempered ductile iron, which leads to an increase in both the abrasion wear resistance and the hardness.