Plate

AR steel for extreme, high-impact wear conditions

Ultimate chromium carbide plate for extreme wear resistance, durability, and moderate impact performance

Industry-leading abrasion resistant pipe lasting up to 6x longer

Wear resistant pipe lasting up to 2x longer

Top-of-the-line couplings, flanges, weld rings, end grooves, and reducers

Rugged, customizable diversion valves for improved safety, efficiency, and reduced downtime

pipe

Bar & Pin

Triloy alloy shafting bar for unmatched strength, machinability, and durability

Special treated pins for ultimate wear resistance and toughness

Welding Consumables

Superior joining for high-strength metals

Versatile welding solution for high-strength and corrosion-resistant metals

Economical hard-facing alloy for balanced impact and abrasion resistance

Superior metal-cored welding for exceptional impact and abrasion resistance

Premium chromium carbide welding for exceptional wear resistance

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WEAR PLATE: A GUIDE TO ABRASION RESISTANT STEEL PLATES

Equipment uptime is pivotal, particularly in industries that have high impact and abrasion like pulp & paper, mining, and construction. AR steel plates help address these needs. Placing abrasion resistant steel plates in high wear areas of your machinery can help make your equipment more durable, increasing uptime and profitability.

However, not every abrasion resistant steel plate is created equal. Alloyed steel plates, such as Tricon’s Tri-Braze®, allow businesses in these industries to greatly extend equipment life and reduce time spent on maintenance and repairs. In order to help you understand the different types of AR steel plates and their use cases, we’ve assembled a helpful guide below.

What are Abrasion Resistant Steel Plates?

Abrasion resistant steel plates are designed to withstand more wear and tear, abrasion, and impact than a traditional structural or mild steel plate. While traditional structural steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with small additions of manganese and silicon, standard AR steels use higher levels of these elements to achieve higher hardness and wear resistance. Alloyed abrasion resistant steels can also include other elements like chromium, nickel, molybdenum, boron and titanium added during the steel production process, changing the molecular makeup, and ultimately the balance of properties of the end product.
 

Understanding AR Steel Grades

Commodity AR steel plates are rated based on their surface hardness as measured by a Brinell Hardness Tester. The higher the calculated Brinell Hardness of a material, the harder the material’s surface. Materials with a higher Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) will generally have higher resistance to abrasion. This grading system gives a general indication of a material’s service life under abrasive conditions, but suffers from two major flaws. First, being only a surface test, it gives no indication of the hardness in the plate’s middle. Second, it does not give any indication of the material’s impact resistance and tendency to crack during welding.

There is typically a tradeoff when it comes to hardness. As the hardness of a carbon/manganese/silicon-based material increases, the ductility, weldability, formability and impact resistance of that material decreases. This means that steels with higher hardness levels can be more difficult to form, fabricate or weld. When you are selecting an AR steel plate, the best option strikes a balance between the level of abrasion/impact resistance and workability.

 
Below are a few common types of AR steel grades, and what you can expect when working with them:
 
  • AR200: This is the earliest version of the AR steel plates, with a hardness range of 170-250 BHN. They are generally in the as-rolled (not heat treated) condition and rely on high carbon content to achieve hardness levels.
  • AR400: This type of steel has a typical hardness range of 360-444 BHN, which offers more abrasion resistance than AR200 while retaining good levels of formability. AR400 was the earliest of the post-rolling heat-treated grades of abrasion resistant steels.
  • AR450: These were the next step in the evolution of heat-treated abrasion resistant plates. These grades typically have a hardness range of 420-470 BHN while maintaining some formability and impact resistance
  • AR500: AR500, with the typical hardness range of 470-525 BHN, offers more abrasion resistance than an AR450, but at the cost of formability and weldability. Commodity AR 500 plates can be prone to cracking during welding, forming, or cold weather conditions.
  • AR600: While offering more abrasion resistance than AR500 plates, the surface hardness levels render them un-formable and extremely prone to cracking during welding. Chromium carbide overlay plates are generally a better alternative to steel plates in this hardness range.
  • Alloyed Abrasion Resistant Steels: Alloyed abrasion resistant steels are the ultimate evolution of the abrasion resistant grades. By using other alloying agents like chromium, nickel, molybdenum, boron and titanium, they are able to achieve surface hardness levels equal to AR500, through hardness (unlike standard AR grades which lose hardness in the center),and the formability and weldability of an AR400. This makes them the ideal choice for use in environments with extreme abrasion and impact conditions.

Key Factors in Choosing the Right Wear Plate

When you’re choosing the right wear plate for the job, there are a few things that you should consider:
 
Abrasion Resistance
Longevity is the primary goal of AR steel plates. As surface hardness levels increase in the AR grades, the abrasion resistance increases, but generally at the expense of formability, weldability and impact resistance. With the hardness levels of an AR500, through hardness, and the formability of an AR400, the alloyed abrasion resistant plates provide the highest overall abrasion resistance of all the available grades.
 
Impact Resistance
In the carbon/manganese/silicon-based AR grades, as hardness levels increase, impact resistance decreases. This means if your wear plates are in an impact-heavy environment, the higher hardness AR grades are generally not the ideal choice. With alloyed abrasion resistant grades, you can keep the abrasive life of the harder AR grades without the risk of cracking under impact conditions.
 
Weldability
Weldability closely mirrors impact resistance, with the higher hardness standard AR grades being much more sensitive to cracking. The softer middle of the commodity grades also makes for uneven and non-homogeneous welding conditions which can lead to surface cracking at the toe of the welds. Through-hardened, alloyed grades are substantially more welder friendly, particularly in field welding conditions.
 

Tricon Wear Solutions: Helping You Choose The Right Wear Plate

Choosing the right wear plate can be daunting – after all, you’re making a sizable investment into your equipment, so you want to make the right choice the first time. If you’re having trouble deciding which wear plate is right for you, reach out to our team at Tricon Wear Solutions. Our expert staff has worked with clients in virtually every high-wear industry, and Tri-Braze® alloy wear steel has proven itself in the most severe wear and impact conditions. We know your business, understand the unique needs of your equipment, and can help you choose the right wear plate today.