Abrasion Resistant Steel Plate - AR Steel Plate AR400 AR500 AR450

Products Specification of Wear Resistant Steel Plate

What Makes Steel Abrasion Resistant?

AR steel alloys are made from billets of steel containing different alloying elements such as carbon, manganese, chrome, nickel, and boron. Of all these alloys, carbon is the most important in making steel abrasion resistant, as it increases hardness and toughness. The AR steel is then produced by “Quenching and Tempering” (Q&T), during which the grain structure is changed to increase toughness and reduce brittleness.

Q&T is a 2 stage process: Quenching occurs when the steel is brought to a temperature of around 1500 degrees F and cooled with oil, water, or air. This process increases hardness. Tempering is the process or reheating the steel to around 300-700 degrees F which allows the steel to become more ductile.

While high-carbon alloys and Q&T treatment makes steel harder, it also reduces its tensile strength. Therefore AR steels are used in situations where abrasion, wear, tear and impact are the main problem, and not constant tension or pressure. As such, AR steels are not ideal for structural construction like beams in bridges and buildings. Common uses are in buckets, grates, chutes, conveyors, ore pockets, and armor for vehicles and targets.

Better Quenching for Better Steel

Most AR Steels are water quenched because it is the fastest, cheapest option. Our plate are oil quenched which, while being far more expensive and time consuming, has the advantage of developing a homogeneous microstructure (maintaining the ‘grain’ of the metal), significantly reducing susceptibility to tearing, shearing, gouging, and wear.

Water quenching, used by other AR steels, disrupts the grain, resulting in a microstructure that is like fallen “Pick-Up sticks”, making it more susceptible to gouging and tearing of the steel, speeding up wear and deforming the steel.

Finally, ENDURA, ENDURA Dual and Titus Manganese are work hardening, meaning that the more impacting they sustain, the harder they become. For example, ENDURA AR 430 has an initial hardness of 430 BHN but, as it withstands impacts, it will harden up to 560 BHN. That’s an increase in hardness of 30%. Titus Manganese will work harden from 280 BHN to 550 BHN—which is an increase in hardness of over 200%.