Insights into effect of CeO2 on microstructures and wear resistance of hypereutectic high chromium cast iron as well as interface properties of CeO2/M7C3

He, Y, Liu, J, Li, Z, Zhou, Y, Ren, X ORCID: 0000-0001-6132-1228, Guo, J and Yang, Q (2025) Insights into effect of CeO2 on microstructures and wear resistance of hypereutectic high chromium cast iron as well as interface properties of CeO2/M7C3. Journal of Rare Earths. ISSN 1002-0721

Text Insights into effect of CeO2 on microstructures and wear resistance of hypereutectic high chromium cast iron.pdf - Accepted Version Access Restricted until 6 September 2026. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB)

Abstract

Rare earth oxide CeO2 was introduced into the hypereutectic high chromium cast iron (HHCCI), in order to refine the pre-precipitated M7C3 carbides and improve their wear resistance in this paper. The evolution of microstructure was comprehensively analyzed through advanced microscopy techniques, including optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their friction coefficient and wear morphology were measured and the frictional morphology was observed using a white light confocal microscope. The interfacial compatibility between CeO2 and M7C3 was investigated through lattice mismatch calculations and first-principles simulations. Experimental results demonstrate that 2.0 wt% CeO2 addition effectively reduces the average diameter of primary M7C3 carbides to 6.8 μm, accompanied by an increased steady-state friction coefficient (from 0.58 to 0.63) and a 38.7% reduction in wear rate (from 4.675 × 10–6 to 2.865 × 10–6 mm3/(N·m)). Theoretical calculations reveal a lattice mismatch of 9.23% at the CeO2 (111)/M7C3 (0001) interface, which reveals that CeO2 can function as the non-spontaneous core of M7C3. Three distinct interface models (Ce-M7C3, O1-M7C3 and O2-M7C3) were constructed, with the O2-M7C3 configuration exhibiting the optimal interfacial stability through maximum adhesion work (16.29 J/m2) and minimum interface energy (–9.49 J/m2). Therefore, CeO2 can serve as the non-spontaneous core of M7C3 to refine the pre-precipitated M7C3 carbide and enhance the wear resistance of the HHCCI.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	40 Engineering; 4017 Mechanical Engineering; 0914 Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy; Materials; 4019 Resources engineering and extractive metallurgy
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Divisions:	Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	4 September 2025
Date Deposited:	05 Nov 2025 09:45
Last Modified:	05 Nov 2025 10:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.jre.2025.09.007
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27492

View Item