Wear 262 (2007) 800806

Room and high temperature wear behaviors of nickel and

cobalt base weld overlay coatings on hot forging dies
H. Kashani, A. Amadeh, H.M. Ghasemi
School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of Tehran,
P.O. Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran
Received 3 October 2005; received in revised form 7 August 2006; accepted 31 August 2006
Available online 7 November 2006

Abstract
The lifetime of dies used for production of forged parts is variable and determined by wear rate, plastic deformation, thermal and mechanical
fatigue. These tools are subjected to extreme temperature at high unit pressures for short durations and must withstand multiple cycles while
maintaining dimensional stability. This paper is an investigation into the use of nickel and cobalt base superalloys as wear resistant hardfacing
materials on H11 tool steel. Three weld overlay alloys including Inconel 625, Stellite 6 and Stellite 21 were deposited on H11 steel substrates
using tungsten inert gas welding (TIG) process. Wear tests were carried out using a pin-on-disk wear tester at room temperature and 550 C.
Microhardness of the weld overlays was obtained and the worn surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of the
laboratory tests were then compared with the results obtained from field studies. The results showed a much lower wear at high temperature with
the weld overlays due to formation of smooth compacted oxide layers on the wear surfaces. Inconel 625 showed the best wear behavior among the
weld overlays at high temperature.
2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: High temperature wear; Superalloys; Hardfacing; Hot forging die; Welding

1. Introduction
Die life acts as an important factor on the steel parts produc-
tivity. The service life of the die is restricted by wear, thermal and
mechanical fatigue, plastic deformation, etc. [14]. There have
been many research projects to investigate the influence of these
factors on tool life. In general, however, the surface hardness
of die decreases when the temperature of the die increases dur-
ing repeated operation which induces thermal softening in hot
forging processes. The thermal softening accelerates the wear,
thermal cracking and fatigue and the plastic deformation of the
die [57].
Due to the enormous quantities of products manufactured in
the industries and the relatively short life of the moulds, tools
and dies, even small improvements in the life would bring a
large economic effect. Bournicon [3] reported that die life in hot
working processes are affected by wear in over 70% of cases.
Various surface techniques, such as gas nitriding, plasma nitrid-
Corresponding author. Fax: +98 21 88006076.
E-mail address: hghasemi@ut.ac.ir (H.M. Ghasemi).
ing, plasma spray and chemical vapor deposition, improve die
resistance against the very aggressive wear, but may not survive
high impact loads resulting in the loss of the coating by delam-
ination failure [8,9]. To reduce the wear rate in hot forging dies
which have been coated by surface engineering techniques, pro-
tective weld overlay coatings are particularly advantageous in
terms of coating quality. The weld overlay coatings are essen-
tially immune to spallation due to a strong metallurgical bond
with the substrate material. A wide range of alloys can also be
applied in order to achieve the best performance in an abrasive
environment [10]. There are many alternative processes, meth-
ods and materials available for welding which each of them has
certain special features, advantages and limitations. Final choice
can be governed by the environment, the service life required,
the time available to complete the surfacing and economic fac-
tors [11,12]. In this paper, the room and high temperature wear
behaviors of Ni and Co based weld overlays on a hot worked
tool steel have been studied by means of a high temperature
pin-on-disk wear tester. The results obtained from the wear tests
were then compared with the results obtained from the field
studies.

0043-1648/$ see front matter 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wear.2006.08.028
 H. Kashani et al. / Wear 262 (2007) 800806 801

Table 1
The nominal composition of used materials
Material C Si Mn P S Cr Mo W Fe Ni Co Others

T2 (disk) 0.9 4.5 18 Bal. 2V

H11 0.38 5 1.5 Bal. 0.5 V
Stellite 6 1.2 1 1 28 5 2.5 2.5 Bal.
Stellite 21 0.25 1 1 27 5.5 2.5 2.5 Bal.
Inconel 625 0.05 21 9 1 Bal. 4 Nb

Table 2
Processes conditions used for the hardfacings
Hardfacing Coating Diameter electrodes Heat input Preheat Postheat
materials thickness (mm) and filler metals (mm) (J mm1 ) temperature ( C) temperature ( C)

Stellite 6 6 3.2 436 370 560

Stellite 21 6 3.2 400 370 560
Inconel 625 5 2.4 377 370 560

2. Experimental procedure
The substrate material used in this study was AISI H11 tool
steel which is widely applied to hot forging die components.
Three weld overlay coatings were selected for wear testing.
The nominal chemical compositions of H11 tool steel and the
selected coatings are shown in Table 1.
Inconel 625 and Stellite alloys were deposited using tungsten
inert gas welding (TIG). All the welds were deposited in three
layers on a base plate of 4 cm thickness. Therefore, the top layer
could be examined in an essentially undiluted (i.e., with the
substrate material) condition. The deposition conditions such
as weld coating thickness, preheat and postheat temperatures,
heat input and the diameter of filler metal are listed in Table 2.
The weld quality was determined by visual inspection and liquid
penetration test of the weld surface.
Sliding wear tests were performed on a high temperature pin-
on-disk tribometer with the test material in conformal contact
against a disk. The disk material was AISI T2 high speed tool
steel, quenched and tempered to a hardness of 840 HV. The sta-
tionary pin specimen, 12 mm in height and 7 mm in diameter,
was made from AISI H11 hot work tool steel as both unmodified
or hardfaced with nickel or cobalt-based superalloys. The wear
tests were performed at both room temperature (i.e., 25 C) and
550 C under dry conditions and under normal load of 48 N and
a sliding speed of 0.4 m/s for a sliding distance of 1000 m.
Prior to each test, the contacting surfaces were ground with
1000 mesh grit sandpaper and then, they were ultrasonically
cleaned in acetone, dried and weighed to a precision of 0.1 mg.
For high temperature tests, enough time was provided for the
specimens to achieve the test temperature.
Microhardness tests were performed using a Vickers inden-
ter with a load of 200 g on a transverse section of each weld
overlay coating after sectioning the specimens radially. Two
to three microhardness profiles were obtained on each coating
in order to improve the statistical significance of the data. The
microstructures of all the coating were characterized using light
optical microscopy in the as weld condition. In addition, the
worn surfaces of each coating were observed by scanning elec-
tron microscopy (SEM).
Hot forging performance tests were carried out in real work-
ing conditions in a hot forging factory. The tests included hot
forging of EN3C steel parts maintained at 1050 C in a mechani-
cal press by used dies improved with Inconel 625 and Stellite 21
weld overlays. A position of the production tests and schematic
illustration of a used die are shown in Fig. 1. Following the
tests, metallographic evaluations and hardness measurements
were performed on the cross-section of the dies. The change in

Fig. 1. A position of the production tests (a) and schematic illustration of the used die (b).
802 H. Kashani et al. / Wear 262 (2007) 800806
Fig. 2. Variation of microhardness as a function of distance from the fusion line
to coating surface.
the dimension of the die at position A shown in Fig. 1 was used
as a measure of the die wear.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Hardness measurements
The variation of the microhardness as a function of distance
from the fusion line to the coating surface for Stellite 6, Stellite
21 and Inconel 625 weld overlays are shown in Fig. 2. The
fusion line is defined as the interface between the substrate and
the coating overlay. It can be seen that for Stellite 6 overlay,
the hardness decreased significantly from the values of about
490 HV on the coating surface to 360 HV near the fusion line.
The change in the hardness may be related to a greater effect of
dilution near the fusion line. The dilution of Stellite 6 having a
carbon content of 1.2 wt% with the H11 base material having
carbon content of 0.38 wt% lead to a decrease in carbon content
at the vicinity of the interface or the fusion line. This could
also lead to a decrease in the amount of carbide formation and
therefore, in the microhardness.
In the case of Inconel 625, a nickel based superalloy, the
dilution effect could lead to an increase of carbon content at
the vicinity of the fusion line and therefore, a higher carbide
formation. It is not expected to form a matensitic layer at the
fusion line due to the presence of nickel which makes a stable
austenitic phase. The higher hardness near the fusion line could
be due to the increased amount of carbides rather than existence
of martensite. The result of Stellite 21 coating was significantly
different from other coatings studied. The amount of carbon in
Fig. 3. Surface microstructures of weld overlays: (a) Stellite 6 and (b) Stellite 21.
Fig. 4. Weight loss of specimens at room temperature and 550 C against their
room temperature microhardness under a normal load of 48 N, sliding speed of
0.4 m/s for sliding distance of 1000 m.
H11 steel and Stellite 21 is the same. Therefore, the dilution
phenomena would not change the amount of carbon and the
carbides on either side of the fusion line as seen in Fig. 2.
3.2. Microstructures evaluation
The optical micrographs of the etched cross-section of the
weld layers are shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3a and b related to the sur-
face layers where the weld overlay solidified in an essentially
undiluted condition where the interaction of the welding mate-
rials and the substrate was minimal. The microstructures of the
coatings were consisting of primary dendrites (white phase) and
interdendritic eutectic regions (black area). The eutectic regions
in Fig. 3 consisted of carbide and phase [13].
3.3. Wear tests
Fig. 4 shows the change in weight loss for Inconel 625, Stel-
lite 21 and Stellite 6 weld overlays and H11 hot work tool
steel at both room temperature (i.e., 25 C) and 550 C under
a normal load of 48 N, sliding speed of 0.4 m/s for sliding dis-
tance of 1000 m. The room temperature microhardness of the
surface of the samples is also shown in Fig. 4. Comparing
Figs. 2 and 4 showed that the wear of specimens at room temper-
ature decreased as the room temperature hardness increased. The
H11 specimen showed the lowest wear with a hardness of about
530 HV. On the contrary to the room temperature wear, Fig. 4
shows that the wear of the specimens at 550 C increased as their
 H. Kashani et al. / Wear 262 (2007) 800806 803

Fig. 5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of Inconel 625 worn surfaces: (a) at room temperature and (b) 550 C.

Fig. 6. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of Stellite 21 worn surfaces: (a) at room temperature and (b) 550 C.

room temperature hardness increased. The figure also shows that
the amount of wear of the specimens except the uncoated H11
decreased significantly at the higher wear temperature. Further-
more, Inconel 625 weld overlay, which showed the highest wear
at room temperature, exhibited the lowest wear at temperature
of 550 C. Inconel 625 overlay showed about 64 times lower
wear at temperature of 550 C compared to room temperature
wear test. The Stellite overlays showed about four to six times
lower wear at higher temperature.
The worn surfaces of Inconel 625, Stellite 21 and Stellite 6
and H11 tool steel, tested at room temperature and 550 C are
shown in Figs. 58, respectively. Severe scratching/grooving of
the wear surfaces occurred for the wear tests at room temperature
shown in Figs. 6a, 7a and 8a. This was more severe with Stellite

Fig. 7. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of Stellite 6 worn surfaces: (a) at room temperature and (b) 550 C.
804 H. Kashani et al. / Wear 262 (2007) 800806
Fig. 8. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of H11 worn surfaces: (a) at room temperature and (b) 550 C.
overlays. Fig. 5a shows SEM micrograph of the wear surface of
Inconel 625 which showed the highest wear at room tempera-
ture. Contrary to Stellite overlays the wear surface consisted of
compacted oxide particles that are easily broken and removed
from the surface. The oxide particles could act as loose abrasives
which accelerated wear of the rubbing surfaces [14,15]. It seems
more oxidations and subsequent removal of the oxides occurred
on the surface of Inconel 625 than the other samples at room
temperature.
Fig. 9 compares hot hardness of the alloys used in this study.
Comparing Figs. 9 and 4 suggested that the wear behavior of
the specimens at 550 C could not be explained by their room
or high temperature hardness as it could with the low temper-
ature behavior (Fig. 4). SEM micrographs of the wear surfaces
of the welding overlays tested at 550 C are shown in Figs. 5b,
6b and 7b. During sliding at elevated temperatures, which is
also accompanied with a higher rate of oxides generation than
at room temperature, smooth compacted oxide layers (known as
a glaze [15,18]) formed on the wear surfaces. The accumulated
wear debris particles can be compacted and subsequently sin-
tered to form solid compact layers, the tops of which are further
burnished to develop smooth wear-protective layers, on the wear
surfaces [14,15,18]. Fig. 5b shows SEM micrograph of the wear
surface of Inconel 625 which showed the lowest wear at 550 C
(Fig. 4). Comparing to Stellite overlays (Figs. 6b and 7b), it
seems that the oxides in the compact layers became more solidly
sintered together. The solid compacted layers on the weld over-
lays would act as smooth load-bearing areas, lowering contact
Fig. 9. Hot hardness of different alloys at 550 C [16,17].
stresses on the wearing surfaces [15,19]. As a result, at higher
temperature, the wear rate is reduced. The solid compacted lay-
ers are believed to be partially responsible for the transition from
the higher wear at low temperature to the lower wear at high tem-
perature observed with the wear of the weld overlays (Fig. 4).
Another reason for the low wear at high temperature could be
due to the ability of the weld overlays to work harden at high
temperature. This would be discussed further in the following
section.
The H11 specimen showed the lowest wear at room tem-
perature and the highest wear at temperature of 550 C. There
were small oxides patches on the wear surface, as shown in
Fig. 8b. These patches could only bear small part of the total
load, and therefore, metal to metal contact and severe adhesive
wear occurred on most of the contacting surface.
3.4. Hot forging performance tests
Hot forging performance tests were carried out in real work-
ing conditions in a hot forging factory. Fig. 10 shows the change
in wear dimension of dies as a function of number of die strokes
for used H11 dies improved with Inconel 625 and Stellite 21
weld overlays. For comparison, the data on H11 tool steel is
also included. The tests included hot forging of EN3C steel parts
maintained at 1050 C in a mechanical press. From Fig. 10, it is
Fig. 10. Variation of wear dimension of dies at position A in Fig. 1 as a function
of number of die strokes.
 H. Kashani et al. / Wear 262 (2007) 800806
Fig. 11. Variation of microhardness along worn cross-sections of Inconel 625
and Stellite 21 after: (a) hot forging performance tests and (b) 550 C pin-on-disk
wear tests.
clear that, nickel and cobalt-based alloys had higher resistance
to wear than H11 hot work tool steel. Note that the trend is
almost the same as in Fig. 4 for the wear tests at high tempera-
ture although the contact geometry and the counter part materials
were different.
It is also suggested that an important factor affecting the wear
resistance of nickel and cobalt base alloys is their ability to
work harden during the wear tests [20]. Fig. 11a and b show
the change of microhardness along the worn cross-sections of
the samples after hot forging performance tests and 550 C pin-
on-disk wear tests. Comparing Figs. 2 and 11 shows that the
near surface hardness of the samples increased after the tests at
high temperatures. The results exhibited that Inconel 625 and
Stellite 21 were hardenable in service. This confirms published
data on the ability of solid solution superalloys to work harden
[20]. The results suggested that work hardening may also have
large effects on the high wear resistance of the weld overlays
obtained at high temperature. The work hardened region sup-
ported the compacted oxide layers, therefore, helped to increase
the wear resistance of the weld overlays. It is also reported that
the work hardened region is stable near the recrystallization
temperature [21]. As a result, a low wear rate is expected as
the service temperature is kept lower than the recrystallization
temperature.
Figs. 11b and 2 also show that the hardness of the interior
of the overlays after the wear tests was higher than that before
the tests. This could be due to higher surface temperature gen-
erated on the wearing surfaces during sliding resulting in higher
temperature in the interiors. This could result in higher carbide
precipitations and the higher hardness [22].
805
4. Conclusions
1. The wear resistance of H11 alloy and the weld overlays
at room temperature increased with their room tempera-
ture hardness. However, the wear resistance of the speci-
mens at 550 C increased as their room temperature hardness
decreased.
2. Smooth compacted oxide layers formed on the wear surfaces
of the weld overlays at 550 C, which would act as load-
bearing areas, lowering contact stresses and wear.
3. A more solid compacted layer formed on the surface of
Inconel 625 resulting in the lowest wear among the weld
overlays at 550 C.
4. Inconel 625 and Stellite 21 were hardenable in high temper-
ature tests. The work hardened region supported the com-
pacted oxide layers, therefore, also helped to increase the
wear resistance of the weld overlays.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the MAHAM industries in
Iran for their support of this work.
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