JMEPEG (2013) 22:541–547 ÓASM International

DOI: 10.1007/s11665-012-0261-9 1059-9495/$19.00

Tribological Behavior of a Heat-Treated

Cobalt-Based Alloy
Y. Bedolla-Gil and M.A.L. Hernandez-Rodriguez

(Submitted February 11, 2011; in revised form April 24, 2012; published online June 6, 2012)

The present study reviews the tribological behavior of a Co-Cr-Mo alloy regarding to microstructural
changes caused by solution and aged heat treatments. The influence of microstructure on wear resistance
was assessed in a pin-on-disk configuration. It was found that after a long solution heat treatment of 6 h at
1200 °C, most of the carbides were dissolved into the matrix, and coarse grain size was obtained. Solution
treatment for 1 h presented fine grains and globular carbides along the matrix. Aging at 850 °C resulted in
a quantity of phase transformation which was different from austenite face cubic centered to martensite
hexagonal close packed (HCP); 35% of HCP was reached during 8 h of treatment and 60% for 15 h.
As-cast condition and 6-h solution heat treatment exhibited the greatest wear loss, while 1-h solution
treatment and samples containing HCP phase showed a threefold lower wear.

cobalt allotropic transformation (Ref 7-10) have demonstrated

Keywords abrasive wear, carbides, Co-Cr-Mo-C, heat treatments,
tribology
1. Introduction
The group of cobalt-based alloys may be generally
described as resistant to wear, corrosion, and heat, even at
high temperatures. Many of the properties of these alloys arise
from the crystallographic nature of cobalt; the solid-solution-
strengthening effects of chromium, tungsten, and molybdenum;
the formation of metal carbides; and the corrosion resistance
imparted by chromium. In general, the softer compositions are
used for high-temperature applications such as gas-turbine
vanes and buckets, while the harder grades are used for
resistance to wear (Ref 1).
There have been several studies designed to improve the
wear resistance by means of developing new materials, hard
coatings, heat treatments, etc. Regarding the application of
solution heat treatments to Co-based alloys, previous studies
(Ref 2-4) have found that low carbide content did not improve
wear behavior, but better wear resistance was observed in high
carbon alloys. Furthermore, it has been reported that wear
performance is improved by small, finely distributed carbides at
the surface and fine grain sizes (Ref 3). Other authors (Ref 5-7)
have observed lower friction coefficients and wear volume
losses for alloys containing martensitic phase rather than
austenitic. This effect has been attributed to the few slip
systems found in hexagonal close packed (HCP) structure; this
makes difficult plastic deformation which in turn avoids debris
formation and results in better wear resistance. Studies based on
Y. Bedolla-Gil and M.A.L. Hernandez-Rodriguez, Facultad de
Ingenierı́a Mecánica y Eléctrica de la Universidad Autónoma de
Nuevo León, Av. Universidad S/N Ciudad Universitaria, CP 66451
San Nicolás de los Garza, NL, Mexico. Contact e-mail:
malhdz@gmail.com.
that such change takes place during isothermal aging treatment
at temperatures close to 800 °C followed by water quenching.
In addition, it has been reported that HCP phase can also be
achieved by plastic deformation during cold work (Ref 8, 11).
The aim of this study was to investigate the wear resistance
of a Co-based alloy with diverse microstructures obtained
through as-cast condition and heat treatments.
2. Materials and Methods
A Co-based alloy comparable to ASTM F75 was evaluated
in pin-on-disk tests, and the as-cast chemical composition is
specified in Table 1. Processing conditions for both pins and
disks were (1) as cast, (2) solution at 1200 °C for 1 h, (3)
solution at 1200 °C for 6 h, (4) 1 h at 1150 °C + aged at
850 °C for 8 h, and (5) 1 h at 1150 °C + aged at 850 °C for
15 h. The objective of solution treatment was to change
carbideÕs content and morphology, while aging treatments
sought allotropic transformation. Aging treatments were pre-
ceded by homogenization heat treatment conducted at 1150 °C
for 1 h because it has been found that structure defects (twins
and stacking faults) formed during solution quenching increase
the transformation kinetics during posterior aging treatments
causing rapid phase conversion (Ref 7, 9). All heat treatments
were finished by water quenching.
Before wear test, Rockwell hardness and roughness mea-
surements were taken on polished surfaces that were obtained
by standard metallographic procedures; Table 2 gives the
hardness and roughness values achieved for each condition.
Hardness decreased for solution heat treatment and increased
under aging conditions, according to the treatment time. On the
other hand, the surface roughness of the samples was very
similar for most of the cases with the exception of 8-h-aging
condition where this parameter was higher, the variation that
could be attributed to manufacturing defects.
The alloy microstructure was characterized by optical
microscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD analysis was

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 22(2) February 2013—541

conducted only on aged samples to quantify the martensitic
transformation obtained after these treatments. The analysis was
performed using an XRD equipment with Cu-Ka as radiation
source (k = 1.54184 Å) produced at 40 kV and 30 mA for
diffraction angles 2h comprised between 40° and 55°. These
parameters are suitable to determine the amount of phase
transformation by means of Sage and Guillaud method (Ref 12),
which establishes that, according to the following equation, the
face cubic centered (FCC) and HCP weight fractions are given by
the integrated intensities of the (200) FCC and ð10 11Þ HCP
reflections obtained from the XRD peaks:
hcp
I1011
ðwt:%Þf hcp ¼ hcp
ðEq 1Þ
I10 
fcc
þ 1:5I200
11
where f hcp is the fraction of martensite in weigh percentage
and I200 and I1011 are the integrated intensities of the austenite
(200) and martensite ð10 11Þ peaks, respectively.
The pin-on-disk-type machine shown in Fig. 1 was used to
evaluate the wear resistance of the different alloy conditions.
Disks were prepared with 18-mm diameter and a thickness of
10 mm. The pins were machined as hemispheres with the tip
being a half sphere with 10-mm diameter. Tests were run for a
short sliding distance of 3.6 km with a disk rotating speed of
219 rpm (149 mm/s). Severe condition of load was chosen, and
64 N was applied over the pin, which represented an initial
contact pressure of 1.96 GPa. Ringer solution was used as
lubricant during all tribological tests. Volumetric wear was
calculated from weight loss measurements using an alloy
density of 8.28 g/cm3; weight loss measurements were made
after an ultrasonic cleaning in acetone for 10 min on a balance
with accuracy of 0.1 mg. Each tribological test was carried out
twice. Subsequent to wear tests, samples were analyzed by
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify features of the
worn surfaces.

3. Results and Discussion

Table 1 Chemical composition of Co-based alloy assessed
Element Cr Mo C Si Ni Fe Co Microstructures obtained in as-cast condition and after heat
treatments are showed in Fig. 2. The as-cast samples (Fig. 2a)
wt.% 29.83 6.24 0.24 0.83 0.7 2.23 Bal exhibited large grains with blocky and lamellar carbides evenly
distributed throughout the structure. The high temperature heat
treatment process resulted in reduction of carbide volume
Table 2 Hardness and roughness of wear tested having a good distribution along grain boundaries and in the
specimens matrix. Solution for 1 h (Fig. 2b) promoted morphological
Roughness (Ra), lm change of carbides from blocky and lamellar to a globular
shape as it has been previously reported by the authors (Ref 13)
Alloy condition Hardness (HRC) Pins Disks and which agrees with the study of Clemow and Daniell
(Ref 14) who studied the kinetics of carbides dissolution for
As cast 33.5 0.0193 0.0155 this alloy. Longer solution time (6 h) dissolved almost entirely
1-h solution 30.6 0.0184 0.0156 the carbides into the matrix (Fig. 2c). Aged microstructures
6-h solution 27.0 0.0150 0.0206 exhibited refined grain size and twins as it are shown in
15 h aged 38.0 0.0188 0.0157 Fig. 2(d) and (e); according to other authors (Ref 7-9, 15) both
8 h aged 35.6 0.0476 0.0286
features are indicatives of partial allotropic transformation. In
Tests were made on self-mated pair twice for each condition addition, homogenization made before aging treatment caused
the primary carbides to turn into globular form as it occurs in

Fig. 1 Pin-on-disk wear test machine

542—Volume 22(2) February 2013 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 2 Microstructure surface condition before tribological test in step with heat treatments. (a) As cast, (b) 1-h solution, (c) 6-h solution,
(d) 8-h aged and (e) 15-h aged. Carbides morphology changes is observed in solution treatments because of their dissolution being more evident
after 6-h. Aged samples exhibited twins and grain refinement because of martensitic formation

solution treatments because these were carried out at temper-
atures close to the carbideÕs melting point.
Figure 3 gives the XRD spectra for aged samples. In
agreement with the Sage and Guillaud method, 35 wt.% of
HCP was achieved after 8 h of aging treatment, while 60 wt.%
of such phase was obtained afterward 15 h of the same
treatment.
The surface damage after wear tests is shown in Fig. 4. It was
evidenced as abrasive wear by the presence of scratches and
grooves (Ref 5, 16); these marks were formed by carbides that are
clearly harder than the rest of the material and caused by abrasion
of two bodies when they were attached in the bulk material, and of
three bodies with carbide wear debris when they were detached.
Varano et al. (Ref 10) also found the carbides to be prone
to fragmentation, and thus generating abrasive wear. In
Fig. 4(a)-(c), it is possible to identify some pits in the matrix
left by torn-off carbides. For samples exposed to solution heat
treatment (Fig. 4b and c), the pits left by those carbides were
smaller than those observed in as-cast condition (Fig. 4a); it is
because solution heat treatment reduced significantly the

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 22(2) February 2013—543

 carbideÕs size. In addition to abrasive wear, it was possible to
identify that samples were also exposed to surface fatigue since
some bigger pits were observed. The pits were the result of debris
formation due to cyclic contact stresses that resulted in the
propagation and delamination of the cracks. It is possible to
recognize this mechanism clearly in as-cast, both solution
treatments, and 8-h-aged samples (Fig. 4a, b, c, and d, respec-
tively). Figure 4(e) shows striations produced apparently by
severe deformation as result of the removed material in aged for
15-h condition which was the hardest condition evaluated.
Figure 5(a) gives the surface damage area and the micro-
structure of samples aged for 8 h. A considerable amount of
Fig. 3 XRD patterns of aged samples during 8 and 15 h at 850 °C carbides was observed together with pits produced by their

Fig. 4 SEM photomicrographs after tribological test: (a) as cast, (b) 1-h solution, (c) 6-h solution, (d) aged for 8-h and (e) 15-h aged. Abrasive
wear is identified by scratches and grooves in all alloy conditions. Moreover, all samples but 15-h aged showed pits produced by delamination
because of cyclic contact stresses

544—Volume 22(2) February 2013 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 5 SEM images of the surface after tribological test of 8-h-aged samples, (a) holes left by carbides on the contact surface and (b) broken
carbide about to detach
Fig. 6 Friction coefficient l as function of sliding distance for all
conditions evaluated
detachments in the contact zone formed by pin and disk.
Figure 5(b) shows a carbide failure; it presented severe
cracking which assisted their separation from the bulk of the
material. It also caused deformation of Co-rich matrix and
further debris formation by delamination.
The behavior of friction coefficient (l) along sliding
distance is shown in Fig. 6. This is an average of friction of
all conditions. In this study were tested only two bearings for
material condition, which could be a statistical limitation.
However, it was found that l was increasing for all the samples
according to sliding distance, above all in the first half of the
test. This effect was greater for the aged pieces which showed
the higher l reaching an increment of approximately 50%
(from 0.29 to 0.45 for 8-h-aged and from 0.27 to 0.45 for 15 h
of aging treatment). Such behavior could be caused for the
martensitic microstructure given that these samples were the
hardest, and the remaining debris in the contact between pin
and disk could be expected to be very hard too; unfortunately,
no analysis of debris was made. The l values obtained in the
present study were comparable to those of Chiba et al. (Ref 5)
who tested under similar saline lubrication, but higher than
those obtained by Saldı́var Garcı́a et al. (Ref 7) who assessed
Co-Cr alloys in non-lubricated conditions. The highest values
of friction coefficient were observed in 8-h-aged material; it is
relevant to mention that such condition exhibited also the
highest roughness. Anyway at the end of the test, l was very
similar for both aged conditions, which leads to the observation
that friction coefficient was more influenced by microstructure
than by the roughness.
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
The wear volume losses of both pins and disks regarding
sliding distance and for every condition of the alloy are
presented in Fig. 7. The wear rates of pins are shown in
Fig. 7(a). Similar behavior was observed in the five conditions;
bigger losses were obtained in aged treatments, though as-cast
and solution treatments pins resisted better. It can also be
noticed that in the latter part of the tests, wear rates diminished
noticeably compared with the former. Such performance can be
attributed to HCP formation during pin-on-disk assessment;
that observation was made by Chiba et al. (Ref 5), who found
the martensite to be formed on samples surface because of
plastic deformation, while pin-on-disk experimentation was
carried out. On the other hand, Fig. 7(b) shows wear rates in
disks. As-cast and 6-h solution treatments, where coarse grains
and different carbides morphologies and sizes (Fig. 2a and b)
were observed, exhibited the greater losses. This behavior can
be related to the irregular primary carbides existent in as-cast
condition, which are easier to detach from the surface. Con-
cerning the 6-h solution heat treatment, its poor wear resistance
is related to the lack of carbides since most of them were
dissolved and these are the principal strength mechanism of the
alloy; it has been reported that long solution times can result in
low mechanical properties (Ref 13-15, 17-21). In contrast with
observed in pins, the lowest wear volume loss measured in
disks was obtained for aged samples and 1-h solution:
approximately 70% less than as-cast condition. Such outcome
could be due to a speed up in wear caused by the load which
was applied directly on the pin; anyway; more investigation
should be developed to ensure this fact. What is alike is the fact
that as pins as disks showed less wear volume during the latter
part of the test; this can be observed in Fig. 8 where the total
wear volume loss for both pins and disk is exhibited.
The three conditions of disks with fewer losses had similar
wear behavior even though their variations in microstructure;
aged samples had different HCP phase contents while 1-h
solution presented a FCC matrix. Even then, these conditions
had in common globular carbides and small grain size.
Equivalent results had been found previously by the authors
(Ref 22); Tipper et al. (Ref 3) too observed better wear
resistance in specimens with small grains surrounded by
carbides unlike the coarse grain and low carbon samples, and
Chiba et al. (Ref 5) also realized the importance of grain size in
wear behavior and found better results in pieces strengthened
by carbides. Nevertheless, Varano et al. (Ref 10) found
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 (a)
Fig. 7 Wear volume as function of sliding distance increases. (a) Pins and (b) disk losses according to its condition
Fig. 8 Total wear volume produced by pins and disks according to
the sliding distance
improved wear resistance in alloys with carbon dissolved into
the FCC matrix suppressing the transition to the HCP phase.
Varano found the martensitic phase to be less wear resistant
when conducting wear tests in lubricants containing protein
(bovine serum) at lower contact stress than the one applied in
the present study. On the other hand, Saldı́var-Garcı́a and
López (Ref 6) reported that HCP phase better resisted wear
losses than FCC. However, as presented in this study where
neither high l nor friction coefficient affected the wear
resistance; the most outstanding improvement is given by
small grain sizes and globular carbides, which are well
distributed in the matrix. It is important to remember that aged
samples exhibited the higher l and, in general, presented good
resistance. Tipper et al. (Ref 3) also found superior wear
resistance in rougher pieces.
4. Conclusions
In the present study, a clear distinction in wear behavior
between microstructures was observed. The higher friction
coefficients were found on samples containing HCP phase;
even then, disks of those conditions showed few wear volume
loss. As aged and 1-h solution exhibited globular carbides and
refined grain size, and as 1-h solution exhibited low losses in
both the pins and the disks, it can be concluded that such
parameters improve the wear resistance of the alloy. In contrast,
coarse-grained samples with primary carbides or the majority of
carbides dissolved in the matrix were the most worn.
546—Volume 22(2) February 2013
(b)
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