Effects of copper and carbon on the wear resistance of Fe–Ni–Cu–C austenitic alloys

The effects of carbon and copper concentrations on adhesive wear behavior of Fe–14Ni–xCu–yC (x = 0–8 wt.%, y = 0.6–1.0 wt.%) were investigated with respect to the strain-induced martensitic transformation and hardness. The critical energy required to initiate the martensitic transformation increased with increasing copper and carbon concentrations up to 0.9 wt.% C. The adhesive wear resistance of the material decreased with increasing copper and carbon concentrations except in 1.0 wt.% C. This effect is most likely due to the decrease of the martensite volume fraction with increasing copper and carbon concentrations, which was formed during wear test. The increase of strain energy needed for initiating the martensitic transformation (from austenite to martensite) made it harder to form strain-induced martensite during wear test with increasing copper and carbon concentration.