This paper presents the results of wear tests of three types of commercial abrasion-resistant steels. The samples, cut from commercially available sheets of metal, were subjected to wear tests to a total friction path of 20,000 m. The tests were provided using the “rotating bowl” method in three types of natural soil masses. The soil moisture and test parameters were kept constant. The tests were carried out in six replications for each material. The testing results indicate that hardness does not determine the resistance to abrasive wear, which is supported by the weight loss results for particular materials. Hardox 600 steel, which is not characterized by the highest hardness, exhibited the lowest weight loss value compared to the other materials in all test soils. For the light soil, the weight loss for Hardox 600 was approx. 1.3 times lower than for Hardox 500 steel and approx. 1.6 times higher than for Hardox Extreme steel. With regards to the medium and heavy soil, the weight losses for Hardox 600 in relation to Hardox 500 steel were approx. 1.7 and 1.6 times lower, respectively, while in relation to Hardox Extreme steel the weight losses were 1.5 and 1.7 times higher, respectively.

The paper presents the results of tests of a welded joint of Hardox 450 steel, belonging to the group of weldable high-strength boron steels with increased resistance to abrasive wear. As a result of the conducted research, apart from the basic structural indicators, an attempt was made to determine the correlation between the grain size of the prior austenite in the characteristic weld zones and its basic mechanical properties, such as yield point, tensile strength, percentage elongation after fracture, reduction of area, and impact strength. The scope of research quoted above was carried out for a welded joint of the considered steel at delivery state (directly after welding), in the normalising annealed state, as well as in water-quenched state, using different austenitisation temperatures in the range of 900–1200 °C. The results obtained showed a large influence of the parameters of the applied thermal heat treatment on the selected structural and mechanical properties of the welded joint.

The paper discusses the microstructural, chemical and tribological properties of the selected low-alloy, high-strength martensitic boron steels with a hardness of 500–600 HBW. These materials, due to their increased strength, and thus resistance to abrasive wear, are widely used in the mining, agricultural or building industries. Grades such as XAR, TBL and Creusabro were subjected to a comparative analysis. As a result of the conducted research, an attempt was made to determine the relation between the microstructural properties, chemical composition, hardness and abrasive wear resistance of the above-mentioned metallic materials belonging to the same material group. The scope of work involved a metallographic analysis, including the examination of the microstructure with an analysis of the prior austenite grain size. Tribological tests were carried out with the use of a T-07 tester, which is designed for testing abrasive wear resistance in the presence of a loose abrasive. As a result, it was found that the coefficient of relative abrasion resistance k_bAV in relation to as-normalized C45 steel is equal to 0.9–1.25 and may even have the same value among materials of different hardness in the as-delivered state.

Among the materials used for components subjected to abrasive wear, chromium cast iron, hardfaced layers, martensitic steels and Hadfield steel should be singled out. Each of these types of materials exhibits a different morphology of structure and strength properties. Hadfield steel, characterized by an austenitic microstructure, shows the ability to strengthen the subsurface layers by cold work, while maintaining a ductile core. Hardox steels belong to the group of low-alloy martensitic boron steels. However, it should be noted that increasing hardness does not always translate into low wear values due to a change in the nature of wear. In view of the above, the authors decided to subject selected Hardox steels and Hadfield cast steels in the post-operational condition to abrasive wear tests in the presence of loose abrasive. The study showed that Hardox Extreme steel exhibits the highest resistance to abrasive wear (value of the coefficient k_b is equal to 1.39). In the case of Hadfield steel, the recorded values are slightly lower (k_b = 1.32 and 1.33), while the above ratios remain higher compared to Hardox 600 and Hardox 500 steels. The main wear mechanism of high-manganese steels is microploughing, plastic deformation and breakouts of larger fragments of material. In the case of Hardox 450 and Hardox 500 steels, the predominant wear mechanisms are microploughing and breaking out of material fragments. As the hardness of the steel increases, the proportion of wear by microcutting and scratching predominates.

High-strength martensitic steels with boron are among the leading materials widely recognized for their exceptional resistance to abrasive wear. These steels exhibit some of the highest strength indices among bulk steels, a result of their specific chemical composition, thermomechanical rolling processes at the steel mill, and the use of pure, high-quality ores. With hardness values ranging from 400 to 650 HBW, they are ideal for demanding applications such as excavator buckets, plow blades, shafts, wear-resistant bars, and container liners. One critical microstructural property contributing to their high mechanical performance is the prior austenite grain size (PAG). A finer grain structure is associated with enhanced plasticity, and plastic deformation plays a significant role in abrasive wear mechanisms. However, this relationship between grain size and wear resistance is not well-documented in the literature, with few studies providing specific quantitative data. To address this gap, the authors conducted a study to examine the effect of prior austenite grain size on wear resistance when exposed to loose abrasive electrofused alumina no. 90. The findings indicate that applying targeted heat treatment can increase hardness by 58 Brinell units compared to the as-delivered condition. Moreover, as grain size increases from 18 µm to 130 µm, the relative abrasive wear resistance coefficient K_b decreases from 1.00 (for Hardox 500 steel in its as-delivered state) to 0.80 for austenitized material treated at 1200 °C.