Novel Corrosion‐Resistant Tool Steels with Superior Wear Properties

This work presents the novel high‐strength cast steels Fe81Cr15Mo1V2C1 and Fe80Cr15Mo1V3C1 (wt%) with high resistance against abrasion and acid corrosion. By means of a tailored alloy design and a special casting technique, implying high solidification rates, multiphase microstructures composed of martensite, austenite and a complex arranged carbidic network are formed. The increase of the vanadium concentration by 1 wt% results in an enhanced content of martensite and a decreased fraction of metastable retained austenite as detected by X‐ray diffraction and magnetization studies. This affects significantly the deformation, strengthening and wear behavior of the presented cast steels. Nevertheless, both steels achieve very high compressive (>4500 MPa) and tensile strengths (>1100 MPa) already in the as‐cast state. Furthermore, a distinctly higher abrasive wear resistance than the conventional X90CrMoV18 cold‐work steel was determined for the novel alloys. In conclusion, the results of the microstructural, mechanical, tribological and corrosive characterizations illustrate the impact of alloy design and special solidification conditions on the microstructure and resulting properties for the newly developed cast steels. In addition, the high potential of Fe81Cr15Mo1V2C1 and Fe80Cr15Mo1V3C1 as materials for high‐performance tools, requiring high strength besides high resistance against abrasive wear and acid corrosion, is demonstrated.