The market for high-strength steels today is very diverse. Dozens of manufacturers and hundreds of rolled products cause confusion even among specialized specialists. Therefore, we decided to break down the entire classification of wear-resistant and high-strength steels in order to understand why you should not buy cheap rolled products and show how the use of high-quality wear-resistant material can help save time and money.
History of wear-resistant steel
The history of the creation of wear-resistant and high-strength steels goes back to Europe and America of the 18th-19th centuries. It was then that the idea first arose to protect the hulls of ships from cannonballs by sheathing them with iron sheets. It was necessary to achieve maximum hardness and strength of the material while reducing its weight. Since then, the search for the ideal composition for the alloy and methods for its processing has not stopped. This entailed the emergence of a huge number of new alloys, patents and steel companies with a century of history.
The domestic metallurgical industry developed according to a different scenario. The main role was played by participation in two world wars and subsequent maintenance of the status of a superpower. There was simply no market competition, which excluded the process of continuous improvement of alloys. And there were no high requirements for the quality of materials. Therefore, due to different industry development scenarios, it is better to classify wear-resistant high-strength steels by country of origin.
Today, the market for high-quality wear-resistant steel is represented by the products of several large companies in Germany, France, the USA, and Japan. But I would like to dwell separately on high-strength Swedish steel, which is especially popular - Hardox and Swebor.
Why is imported steel better than domestic steel?
The main requirement for wear-resistant steels is high strength, hardness and impact strength. At the same time, the material must remain plastic, not crumble and be easy to weld. It should have greater resistance to abrasive and contact wear. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the intensity and operating conditions of the assembly or part (temperature regime, rock hardness, applied force, etc.). Hardox and Swebor wear-resistant steels are alloyed hot-rolled steels, which belong to the class of structural high-strength steels with a hardness of 350 to 650 HB Brinell. During production, they are hardened and tempered, which increases the resistance of the material to all types of wear.
Hardox was launched in 1974 by the Swedish company SSAB Oxelösund AB. Swebor steel began to be produced a little later - in 1982 by the Swedish company Swebor Stål Svenska AB of the same name. Hardox and Swebor is an analogue of such domestic steel grades as 10KhSND, 30KhGSA, 45Kh. But why is Swedish high strength steel better? It's all about the "purity" of the alloy. The quality of steel deteriorates significantly for the following reasons:
- the presence of films along the grain boundaries of the alloy (low-melting sulfide inclusions);
- increased carbon content against the background of an increase in the degree of dendritic heterogeneity of the sulfur content;
- Intracrystalline segregation (heterogeneity) of phosphorus.
It is possible to increase the wear resistance and strength of the alloy by deep cleaning of raw materials from phosphorus and sulfur. However, this process is very expensive and not all manufacturers are ready to carry it out. Including domestic ones. Therefore, the comparative content of sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P) in the alloy can already tell a lot about the quality of wear-resistant steel:
- Steel 10KhSND - up to 0.04% (S); up to 0.035% (P);
- Steel 30KhGSA - up to 0.025% (S); up to 0.025% (P);
- Steel 45X - up to 0.035% (S); up to 0.035% (P);
- HARDOX 550 steel - up to 0.01% (S); up to 0.020% (P);
- Steel SWEBOR 400 - up to 0.01% (S); up to 0.020% (P).
The quenching and tempering process also plays an important role. The author's technology, which provides for precise control over temperature, heating time and subsequent cooling with water, makes Hardox and Swebor steels stronger than their counterparts (a video of the process can be seen here). The effectiveness of the technology was confirmed experimentally by comparing various steels for abrasive resistance when working with granite, as well as during tests for mechanical strength (video can be viewed here and here). Research has shown that:
- Switching from plain steel to Hardox 500 or Swebor 500 can extend product life by 3 to 5 times.
- An 82 mm 10KhSND, 30KhGSA or 45Kh sheet lasts as long as a 60 mm thick Hardox or Swebor steel sheet, which can significantly reduce the weight of components, parts or parts
Moreover, thanks to the low content of manganese and other impurities in the alloy, wear-resistant Swedish steels can be easily cut, bent, and welded without emitting toxic vapors.
Where and How Wear-Resistant Steel is Used
It is obvious that wear-resistant high-strength Swedish steel has a number of undeniable advantages that allow it to be used in work with particularly powerful machines and mechanisms. Therefore, wear-resistant steel is actively used by Volvo, Caterpillar (trademark CAT), Komatsu, LIEBHERR, NEW HOLLAND CONSTRUCTION, John Deere - world leaders in the production of road, agricultural, and construction machinery. Depending on the type of machinery, wear-resistant steel is applied in:
Equipment for waste processing and shredding (Hardox 500-600 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB):
- Lining of sorting pockets;
- Edges of garbage truck compactors;
- Shredder cutters, granulator knives;
- Screens, conveyor belts, sieves, knives;
- Hammer crushers;
- Container walls.
For road-building equipment (Hardox 400-450 HB; Swebor 400-450 HB):
- Hydraulic hammer, lining of gravel chutes, drum blades, containers;
- Excavator buckets and their parts, buckets with cutting edges and side walls;
- Cutting edges of bulldozer blades;
- Shredder chute, grader blade;
- Leveling plates of asphalt pavers;
- Crusher lining.
For quarry and mining equipment (Hardox 500-600 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB):
- Cutting edges of mechanical shovels, hoppers, bulldozer blades;
- Light dump truck bodies;
- Lining of discharge accumulators, impact pins, hammers and crusher jaws;
- Transport chutes.
For mining equipment (Hardox 500-600 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB):
- Light dump truck bodies;
- Quarry loader buckets;
- Main crusher hoppers;
- Lining of accumulators, wagon walls and floors;
- Screens, lining of discharge points, measuring hoppers and skips.
For logging and agricultural equipment (Hardox 450-550 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB):
- Multi-purpose grapples, plowshares and plow equipment shares;
- Mixing troughs for silage;
- Log loader and handler grapples;
- Dehydrating press knives.
- For civilian vehicle and premises armor (Hardox Extreme);
- Targets and backstops for shooting ranges (Hardox Extreme);
- Concrete mixer lining, mobile crusher armor, chamber lining and protective plates of impact crushers, screen sieves and shredders, shredder knives and plates, disintegrators, alligator-type mechanical and hydraulic shears, links of high-load chains, conveyor augers, auger drills (Hardox 500-600 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB);
- Railway track elements (Hardox 500-600 HB; Swebor 450-500 HB).
The annual production of Swebor wear-resistant steel currently stands at 20 thousand tons per year, Hardox steel at 40 thousand. Its application in repairing, upgrading, or reinforcing equipment is more than justified and guarantees:
- Weight reduction;
- Reduced downtime of equipment and machines due to extended service life;
- Lower maintenance costs.
The high quality of the alloy and moderate cost of high-strength wear-resistant Swedish steel Hardox 450-600 HB and Swebor 450-600 HB is confirmed by its worldwide popularity.
Representative offices of UTMK company are located in Poltava, Boryspil, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kherson, and Chernivtsi, as well as in Polish cities: Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Poznan. Here, wear-resistant steel can be purchased under self-pickup conditions. A discount system applies for large wholesale orders. For any inquiries, please contact our sales department. We will gladly answer all your questions and organize delivery to any location in Ukraine and Europe, including Lviv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil.
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