Metallurgical phase transformations in the rubbing of steels

Abstract

Abstract The theory of the transient frictionally generated temperatures that are necessary to produce hard metallurgically transformed material in the rubbing of steels is re-examined and it is found that these temperatures are much higher than has previously been assumed. Carbon diffusion is shown to be the rate-determining process. The revised theory is confirmed by experiments in which, for the first time, such phase-transformed material is produced as a result of a single rubbing contact.