325HBW HARDENED WEAR RESISTANT STEEL L is successfully applied by the customers where high resistance to wear is required together with good weldability and good machinability, especially if heat treatment or hot forming is provided.
Examples: loading machines, dredgers, skip cars, conveying plants, trucks, cutting edges, knives and breakers.
Product description
Designation and range of application
The production range of the 325HBW HARDENED WEAR RESISTANT STEEL L plates is 5 mm (0.2 in.)2 to 50 mm (2 in.)2 according to the dimensional program. It may be possible to supply other sizes on request.
Chemical composition
Heat analysis, in %, max.:
| C | Si | Mn | P | S | Cr |
| 0.23 | 0.30 - 0.70 | 1.2 - 1.7 | 0.025 | 0.010 | 1.0 - 1.6 |
Depending on the thickness, the following alloying elements may be used singly or in combination:
| Mo | Cu | Ni | V | Nb+V+Ti |
| 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.20 | 0.20 |
The steel is fully killed and fine grain treated.
Delivery condition
Normalized. According to thickness, a complementary tempering treatment may be performed.
Mechanical properties in the delivery condition
| Thickness [mm] | Brinell surface hardness at room temperature [HBW] |
| | ≤ 15 (0.59 in.) | ≥ 280 |
| 15 (0.59 in.) | ≤ 25 (1 in.) | ≥ 260 |
| 25 (1 in.) | ≤ 50 (2 in.) | ≥ 240 |
The approximately converted values in brackets are for information only.
Auxiliary values for 10 mm plate thickness
Hardness: 325 HBW
Tensile strength: 1000 MPa (145 ksi)3
Yield strength: 650 MPa (95 ksi)3
Elongation: 13 % (Lo = 5.65·√So, transverse specimen)
Charpy impact energy: Charpy-V- longitudinal specimens: 20 J (15 ft·lbf) at -20 °C (-4 °F)3
Testing
Brinell surface hardness tested once per heat and 40 t.
Identification of plates
Unless otherwise agreed the marking is carried out via steel stamps with at least the following information:
steel grade (325HBW HARDENED WEAR RESISTANT STEEL L)
heat number
number of mother plate and individual plate
the manufacturer’s symbol
inspector’s sign
Fabrication properties
The entire fabrication and application techniques are of fundamental importance to the reliability of the products made from this steel. The fabricator should ensure that his calculation, design and fabricating methods are aligned with the material, correspond to the state of the art that the fabricator has to comply with, and are suitable for the intended use. The customer is responsible for the selection of the material. The recommendations in accordance with EN 1011 should be observed.
Flame cutting and welding
General recommendations for welding of high strength steels are indicated in EN 1011. The carbon content of 325HBW HARDENED WEAR RESISTANT STEEL L must be taken into account when compared with the grades of these recommendations.
Additionally the following recommendations are to be considered:
For flame cutting, a preheating temperature of at least 120 °C (250 °F) is recommended if plate thickness is greater than 10 mm.
In case of high rigidity of structure, high weld metal hardness, unfavourable atmospheric conditions and generally for thicknesses 8 mm, a preheating temperature of 100 - 200 °C (210 - 390 °F) is recommended to reduce the risk of cracking in the welded joint. Welding consumables should be chosen as soft as the construction and wear conditions allow for it. The maximal working temperature is 300 °C (570 °F), for a short period.
Cold forming
325HBW hardened wear resistant steel L can be cold formed in spite of its high hardness. Grinding of the flame cut or sheared edges in the bending area is recommended to avoid crack initiation.
The cold forming operations should be carried out under consideration of the following recommendations (where t is the plate thickness)
| | Minimum bending radius | Minimum die width |
| Transverse direction | 5 t | 14 t |
| Longitudinal direction | 6 t | 16 t |
Hot forming and heat treatment
The steel obtains its hardness by normalizing (air cooling from austenitizing temperature, if necessary with additional tempering). Consequently, there is no hardness drop after hot forming if temperature cycles equivalent to normalizing are applied, or if the hot forming process is followed by a normalizing heat treatment.
Normalizing temperature: 920 - 970 °C (1 690 – 1 780 °F).
The steel can be heated to about 500 °C (930 °F) without any substantial drop in hardness.
The following diagram shows the general changes in hardness or strength values according to the heat treatment temperature:
Machining
The steel can be machined with HSS-drills and especially with HSS-Co-alloyed drills with a satisfactory service life if the drill advance and cutting speed are correspondingly accommodated. Drilling with hard metal drills is not necessary.
For milling and sawing, reversible carbide tips with a negative cutting edge are recommended.
General technical delivery requirements
Unless otherwise agreed, the general technical requirements in accordance with EN 10021 are applicable.
Tolerances
Unless otherwise agreed, the tolerances are in accordance with EN 10029, with class A for thickness.
Surface quality
Unless otherwise agreed, the provisions in accordance with EN 10163 are applicable.
General note
If special requirements, which are not covered in this material data sheet, are to be met by the steel due to its intended use or processing, these requirements are to be agreed before placing the order.
Production process
