Pit & Quarry, January 2014

PARTS SELECTION creates more problems than benefits On our pizza lets let black olives represent silicon Even a small percent change quickly becomes overpowering Imagine mozzarella cheese represents manganese overdosing on cheese in a pizza is just as unappealing as excess manganese in wear plate Many people in the aggregates industry are familiar with Hadfield manganese steel It contains 12 to 14 percent or more manganese At that level the manganese can work harden from repeated impact Target these levels Ultra low sulfur levels are critical too Wear plate having 0004 percent sulfur has only half the impact resistance of steel with 0002 percent sulfur Also if you dont remove all the oxygen the lowest you can get the sulfur level is 0010 percent To get all the oxygen out primary deoxidizers manganese and silicon are used Aluminum eliminates the remaining oxygen So if aluminum is listed the oxygen is removed Look for manganese levels that are less than 125 percent as well The silicon level should be under 03 percent And the manganese to silicon ratio should ideally be three to one Manufacturers do not publish this figure so divide the manganese by the silicon Anything less than three to one is brittle Something else to remember is that all steelmakers list sulfur and phosphorus content as maximums If other elements are listed at 10 percent max you still dont know what amounts you have You might think you have 10 percent when in fact yours may contain 004 percent One solution is to look for a specific range such as nickel content between 05 085 percent The standard for at least one steelmaker is Brinell hardness which is tested on a milled surface once per batch and every 40 tons Tests are made for every variation of five eighths of an inch in the thickness of plates from the same heat Wear resistant steel is quenched and tempered plate byplate and one at a time This means manufacturers only test one plate for hardness every 40 tons Furthermore this means they can test and certify a 1 4 in plate at whatever hardness it is Then manufacturers will state that a 3 4 in plate from the same batch is at the same hardness Considering this it is likely your plate was never tested So you cannot be sure what hardness you bought Verify the hardness of your steel plate so you know what youre buying For you this means a 1 4 in plate can be tested and certified at whatever hardness it is Then manufacturers will state that a 3 4 in plate from the same batch is of the same hardness It is likely your plate was never tested so you cannot be certain what hardness you bought Verify the hardness of your steel plate so you know what you buy Your payback in doing these checks is longer equipment life You will seldom make a better investment in time P Q Rich Fercy has more than 20 years experience in wear resistant steels and specialty welding products He owns WearAnswers com and can be contacted at richfercy@ gmail com BUILT IN AMERICA PERFORMING AROUND THE WORLD The C 550 DII Visit us at CONEXPO CON AGG 2014 Platinum Lot Booth 7101 at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 4 8 To Find the Distributor Nearest You Visit Our Website at www reichdrill com distributors Platinum Lot Booth 7101 www reichdrill com www pitandquarry com January 2014 PIT QUARRY 63