Road maintenance and cleaning in winter are performed with ploughshares. Due to the fact that the layer of snow and ice that is removed from the road surface contains various hard impurities, ploughshares are exposed to high intensity abrasive wear. This article deals with the resistance to abrasive wear of originally used ploughshare materials and the materials that were designed as a suitable modification of the ploughshare to increase its service life. The chemical composition of materials used to manufacture ploughshare components is unknown. For this reason, they were analyzed with an ARL 4460 spectrometer, which was used to analyze the element content. The main part of the research was focused on the abrasion resistance test, which was performed according to the GOST 23.208-79 standard. Based on the chemical analysis, it was found that the basic body of the ploughshare was made of S355J2G3 steel, and the raking blade material was made of 37MnSi5 steel. The original material (steel S355J2G3) of the ploughshare body as a reference standard was compared to steel HARDOX 450. Furthermore, a sample made of the original material of the raking blade (steel 37MnSi5) was used as a reference standard, the properties of which were compared to the newly designed OK 84.58 and UTP 690 hardfacing materials. The parametric test method of statistical hypotheses was also used to process and evaluate the weight losses of the selected materials.

The aim of this work was to assess the suitability of selected methods of surface treatment on X48CrMoV8-1-1 tool steel for application on chipping knives in wood-chipping machines. Three material surface conditions of X48CrMoV8-1-1 tool steel were evaluated for their tribological scratching behavior. The first surface condition was related to the conventionally machined chipping knife from the manufacturer without surface treatment. The second condition involved plasma nitriding treatment, and the third was a PVD-coated surface with “CROSAL ® Plus” (AlCrN based) coating. Several complementary analyses were carried out, namely microstructural observations, nano-indentation measurements, and tribological scratch tests. From the scratch tests, friction coefficients depending on applied load were determined. The best nano-indentation results were obtained for the PVD-coated surface, namely 23.7 ± 1.6 GPa for nanohardness and 270.3 ± 19.0 GPa for elasticity modulus. The best results of tribological and scratching behavior were obtained for the plasma-nitrided surface, namely 0.34 ± 0.21 for coefficient of friction and 1.88 × 10-6 mm3/N.m for specific wear rate. Based on the obtained results of laboratory tests, it can be concluded that the plasma-nitrided surface of X48CrMoV8-1-1 tool steel can ensure its better tribological performance compared to other investigated material conditions.

This article focuses on the possibilities of increasing the service life of tools for crushing unwanted growths. One way to increase their service life is to increase the hardness and resistance to abrasive wear of exposed surfaces of the tool, which are their face and back. At the same time, however, care must be taken to ensure that the shape and weight of the tool is not altered after the additive has been hardfaced on. Thus, the tool was first modified by removing the material by milling from the face and back. Subsequently, two surfacing materials, namely UTP 690 and OK WearTrode 55, were chosen and hardfaced by welding onto the pre-prepared surfaces. After hardfacing by welding, the tools were ground to their original shape and their weight was measured. Subsequently, the tool was sawn, and specimens were created for Rockwell hardness evaluation, material microstructure and for abrasive wear resistance testing as per ASTM G133-95. The OK WearTrode 55 electrode is a hardfacing electrode that produces weld metal with a high-volume fraction of fine carbides in a martensitic matrix. Better results were achieved by the UTP 690 hardfacing material. The hardness was 3.1 times higher compared to the base tool material 16MnCr5 and 1.2 times higher than the OK WearTrode 55 material. The abrasive wear resistance was 2.76 times higher compared to 16MnCr5, and 1.14 times higher compared to the OK WearTrode 55 material. The choice of a suitable pre-treatment for the tool and the selection and application of such additional material, which with its complex properties better resists the effects of the working environment, is a prerequisite for increasing the service life of tools working in forestry.