Microstructure and tribological response of a high-chromium cast iron: Role of post-normalization cooling

This study systematically investigates the microstructure-property relationships in high-chromium cast iron (HCCI) processed by four post-normalization cooling methods: nitrogen, water, oil, and air (Q1-Q4). The quenching media critically altered M₇C₃ carbide texture, with suppressed [0001] orientation correlated with enhanced mechanical properties. Water quenching (Q2) optimally balanced high hardness (66.1 ± 0.5 HRC), tensile strength (550 ± 5 MPa), compressive strength (3852 ± 10 MPa), ductility (12 ± 0.5 %), and wear resistance. This resulted from its unique microstructure featuring weakened [0001] M₇C₃ texture, adhesive-dominated wear, and subsurface refinement. The findings establish that controlled carbide texturing through quenching media selection serves as an effective strategy for tailoring HCCI alloy performance, with water quenching identified as the optimal process for applications requiring collective hardness-strength-ductility and wear properties.