Effect of Microstructure of Fe-C-V Alloys on Selected Functional Properties

The cast alloys crystallizing in Fe-C-V system are classified as white cast iron, because all the carbon is bound in vanadium carbides. High vanadium cast iron has a very high abrasion resistance due to hard VC vanadium carbides. However, as opposed to ordinary white cast iron, this material can be treated using conventional machining tools. This article contains the results of the group of Fe-C-V alloys of various microstructure which are been tested metallographic, mechanical using an INSTRON machine and machinability with the method of drilling. The study shows that controlling the proper chemical composition can influence on the type and shape of the crystallized matrix and vanadium carbides. This makes it possible to obtain a high-vanadium cast iron with very high wear resistance while maintaining a good workability.