WEAR & ABRASION STEELS

VRN 400

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

VRN 400 abrasion resistant steel plates are heat treated to give an optimal combination of
hardness, toughness and weldability. Depending on thickness and application, these
properties are achieved through either thermomechanical rolling, quenching and tempering
or quenching only. The steel is made to a fully killed fine grain practice. It is calcium
treated and desulphurised to achieve low sulphur levels and a very low inclusion content
with controlled shape. These processes result in the steel having adequate toughness in
addition to high hardness.

During heat treatment the entire plate is subject to a rapid, high volume water quench. The
high cooling rate ensures maximum exploitation of the alloying elements to give the
required properties throughout the thickness of the plate. In this way the composition can
be kept sufficiently lean to provide a readily weldable product. All plates are ultrasonically
tested prior to heat treatment.

Brinell Max Chemical composition %

Grade
hardness thickness
Designation C Mn P S Si B Mo Ni Cr
(min/max) (mm)
0.20 1.60 0.005 0.75 1.20 0.80
VRN400 360/418 80 0.030 0.010 0.20/0.60
max max max max max max

HARDNESS
Hardness of heat treated steel relates to the condition at the surface, whereas hardenability
of the steel grade is a measure of the depth ot which the hardness is maintained in the
steel. To obtain the required hardness in thick plate, it is essential to increase the ability of
the steel to be hardened. Hardenability of a steel grade is determined by the chemical
composition. As the thickness of steel plates is increased, the alloy content has to be
increased to obtain the required hardenability.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
The numbers in the grade designations generally indicate the nominal Brinell hardness
values of the steel at the surface. These steels are produced to meet specific nominal
surface hardness requirements and not to conform to any tensile requirements.

There is however a correlation of hardness and tensile strength as set out below:

Brinell hardness :- 400

Approximate tensile strength (MPa) :-1 350
BENDING
VRN400 may be readily formed, provided the following precautions are met:

for bending transverse to the rolling direction, a radius, R, of at least 3 times the plate
thickness, t, should be maintained;

for bending parallel to the rolling direction, R should be at least 5 t;

a sharp blade should never be used for bending operations;

a die opening,W, of at least 8.5t should be used to ensure successful transverse

bending, and at least
10t for longitudinal bends;

a U-bottom is recommended rather than a V-bottom for any bending where the
included angle is smaller than 90o.

TRANSVERSE BENDING LONGITUDINAL BENDING

R/t W/t R/t W/t
>3 > 8.5 >5 > 10

MACHINING
Machining can be performed using high-speed tool steels and reducing cutting speeds to
50% of speeds used for normal carbon steels.

WELDING
VRN 400 is readily weldable. Low hydrogen procedures must be used to avoid cracking in
the heat affected zone. In addition, low tensile strength consumables should be employed
to minimise residual stresses. Recommended pre-heating temperatures are shown in the
table overleaf. High heat inputs will reduce the hardness in the heat affected zone and must
be avoided, especially in multi pass welding.

PREHEATING TEMPERATURES
The objective of pre-heating is to ensure a good microstructure in the heat-affected zone
(HAZ) by reducing the cooling rate.

An excessive cooling rate is caused by:

- insufficient heat input during welding
- too low a temperature of the parent plate
- too thick a plate

In such cases a brittle martensitic microstructure, which is susceptible to hydrogen cracking,

could arise in the HAZ. Increasing the temperature of the parent plate by pre-heating is
usually the easiest way to overcome the problem.

The recommended values are given below. They are based on minimum heat-input rates,
and preheating temperatures should be increased at lower rates of heat-input (see minimum
heat-input values).
 Recommended minimum preheating temperatures 1)
Grade Thickness range (mm) Preheat (oC)
Up to 25 None
VRN 400 Over 25 up to 40 501)
Over 40 up to 80 100

1) Only applicable if low Hydrogen levels in welding consumables can be guaranteed. If

hydrogen levels are 10-15ml/100g of weld metal, a minimum of 100oC preheat is necessary.

Minimum heat-input values1)

Plate thickness (mm) Minimum heat-input (kJ/mm)

Up to 6 inclusive 0.6
Over 6 up to 12 inclusive 1.1
Over 12 up to 25 inclusive 2.1
Over 25 2.3

1) Heat-input in welding is defined as:

Welding current (amps) x Welding voltage (volts)

HI (kJ/mm) = --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welding speed (mm/sec) x 1 000

Hydrogen-level control
Low hydrogen welding processes are widely used. These processes entail the selection of
low-hydrogen consumables, and ensuring that manual metal-arc electrodes and sub-
merged-arc fluxes are thoroughly dried in accordance with the manufacturers'
specifications. The plates must be free of moisture, oil or grease before welding
commences.

Reduction of hardness in the Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ)

The desired properties of VRN 400 plates are achieved by heat treatment. High
temperatures, such as during welding, will inevitably reduce the hardness of the plate in the
HAZ. Refer to the test certificate in order to determine the heat treatment procedure for a
specific plate.

Limiting Heat-input
It is not possible to avoid a certain amount of hardness reduction in the HAZ during welding,
but this can be minimized by limiting the heat-input to a predetermined maximum value. If,
for instance, a drop in hardness to a value of about 270 Brinell hardness (28 Rockwell C) can
be tolerated, the maximum heat-input values, indicated in the following table, could be
used. These values can be exceeded if lower hardness values in the HAZ are acceptable
e.g. in hidden corners.

Typical maximum heat-input at pre-heat temperature (T)

Plate thickness t (mm)
T = 20oC T = 90oC
Up to 6 incl. 1.4 •
Over 6 up to 12 incl. 1.9 1.2
Over 12 up to 25 incl. 3.3 2.4
Over 25 • 2.8
 To be established by procedure test

Weld procedure tests

Before any critical welds are made, it is advisable to conduct a weld procedure test to check
the hardness profile across the weldment.

RESIDUAL STRESS LEVEL

The residual stress in weldment is determined mainly by:

- external restraint
- fit-up
- yield strength of the weld metal

External restraint
Since the method of installing wear-resistant plates usually induces a high level of external
restraint, particular attention must be given to fit-up and yield strength of the weld metal.

Fit-up
Fit-up is important, especially in small or single-run welds, where the aim should be to keep
the root gap below 0.4 mm.

Yield strength of the Weld Metal

The selection of the correct filler metal is essential to restrict the residual stresses in the
weldments. During cooling, either the parent plate or the weld metal has to yield to
accommodate the shrinkage stresses. Since the parent plate has a very high yield strength,
it is imperative to use a filler metal with a low yield strength to prevent the generation of
excessive residual stresses.

If it is considered essential to provide for abrasion resistance of the weld bead itself, it is
advisable to initially deposit "soft" beads and to apply wear-resistant beads on the surface.

SHEARING AND PUNCHING

VRN 400 plates can be sheared in thicknesses up to 25 mm. Because of the high hardness of
VRN 400 compared to structural steel, the machine capacity should be decreased to 40% of
the normal capacity. Punching of VRN 400 is not recommended.

GAS CUTTING
Owing to the good weldability of VRN 400, the steel can be readily cut by oxy-acetylene
flame. Some distortion could be experienced as cuts are made because the low tempering
temperature of the steel does not relieve all the internal stresses induced during the
quenching process. If subsequent bending is to be done, grinding of the flamecut edges is
recommended. VRN 400 can be successfully cut by plasma, laser and hydro jet cutting
techniques.

HOT-WORKING
VRN 400 is normally tempered at temperatures below 425oC. To ensure that full hardness is
retained, the steel should not be hot-worked at temperatures above 330oC. Refer to the test
and analysis certificate for actual tempering temperature. Hot working should be done at
temperatures at least 30oC lower than the actual tempering temperature. The tempering
temperatures are indicated on the test certificate. Hot working of VRN 400 is not
recommended as it is normally supplied in the as quenched condition.

EDGE CONDITION
Plates thicker than 12.0 mm normally have flamecut edges, whereas plates 12.0 mm and
thinner normally have sheared or plasma cut edges.