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FAQs
THE WEAR PLATE
1. What is HARDOX wear plate?
2.What are the key differences between the different HARDOX grades?
3.Is hardness the only property that gives longer service life?
4.Why not just use the hardest plate in all applications?
5.What effect will be gained by high impact toughness?
6.Will a corrosive environment affect the wear plate?
7.Do high temperatures influence the properties of HARDOX wear plate?
8.Are there possibilities to use HARDOX if the temperature of the abrasive material is higher than 250 ºC?
9.Is there any difference in wear resistance in regard to the rolling direction?
10.Which wear situation; sliding wear versus impact wear, results in the highest material loss/wear?
11.How much of an increase in service life can I expect when upgrading to a harder plate?
12.Is it possible to predict wear… and how accurately?
 
DESIGN WITH HARDOX
 
THE ABRASIVE MATERIAL
 
 
THE WEAR PLATE
1.Q: What is HARDOX wear plate?
A: HARDOX is the most widely used wear plate in the world. Clean steel in combination with advanced process control gives absolutely unique wear resistance and versatility.
2.Q: What are the key differences between the different HARDOX grades?
A: We supply our customers with a wide range of wear resistant grades categorized by the plate hardness. In general terms, higher hardness results in longer service life.
3.Q: Is hardness the only property that gives longer service life?
A: Hardness is most important. But another objective is to make a plate that is workshop friendly. Our metallurgists have found a balanced combination of these characteristics through selected alloys, clean steel and process control.
4.Q: Why not just use the hardest plate in all applications?
A: The choice of HARDOX grade depends primarily on the abrasive material but another feature to consider is fabrication of wear parts. Those aspects must always be considered when assessing the total price-performance ratio.
5.
Q: What effect will be gained by high impact toughness?
A: Toughness is the material’s resistance to crack propagation. In general terms, a tough material can absorb more energy during elongation before the crack leads to failure. When plates with high toughness such as HARDOX encounter hard impacts the result is denting. Plates with similar hardness but lower toughness develop denting with micro cracks resulting in increased wear.
6.Q: Will a corrosive environment affect the wear plate?
A: In a lightly corrosive environment HARDOX is an excellent choice. But a corrosive environment does increase the wear rate. Corrosion in combination with wear is one of our ongoing research projects. Contact us for detailed discussion and recommendations. Contact WTG
7.
Q: Do high temperatures influence the properties of HARDOX wear plate?
A: In most HARDOX grades a decrease of hardness is initiated at temperatures above 250 ºC. Other HARDOX grades start at higher temperatures.
8.Q: Are there possibilities to use HARDOX if the temperature of the abrasive material is higher than 250 ºC?
A: Yes. HARDOX can sustain sliding wear of hot abrasive materials if the material has high porosity and low heat flow. The reason is that the heat flow (conductivity) in the steel is much higher and this helps to transfer the heat. The plate’s hardness properties remain basically unaffected in spite of the heat exposure. Contact the Wear Technology Group for further advice.  Contact WTG
9.Q: Is there any difference in wear resistance in regard to the rolling direction?
A: Not any significant difference. The grains are somewhat affected from the rolling process. HARDOX is subjected to a special hot-roll process whereby the grains return to granular form. Therefore, HARDOX keeps even properties compared to other types of manufacturing processes. 
10.Q: Which wear situation; sliding wear versus impact wear, results in the highest material loss/wear?
A: There is no specific answer to this question. The properties in the contacts determine the highest wear.
11.Q: How much of an increase in service life can I expect when upgrading to a harder plate?
A: The wear rate is not linear in regard to the plate hardness. There is a shift in the type of surface damages caused by the abrasive material’s properties in combination with the plate’s hardness. The Wear Technology Group can assist you in choosing the HARDOX plate with the highest cost performance ratio for your wear situation.
12.Q: Is it possible to predict wear… and how accurately?
A:Yes, though the accuracy depends on how well the parameters of the wear situation are defined.
 
DESIGN WITH HARDOX
1.Q: Will a wear resistant plate affect the load capacity?
A1: Yes, HARDOX wear plate has been successfully used in containers and tippers as a structural load carrying component with high wear resistance. Thin shell structures give reduced weight and increased load capacity.
A2: Another solution is dead bed liners which have been successful in increasing the load capacity for dumpers.
2.Q: Does the angle of incidence of falling stones affect the wear rate on my chute plate?
A: Yes. In some impact situations the wear rate is strongly affected by the impact angle and must be considered.
3.Q: What is a dead bed liner?
A:  A dead bed liner, dirt box or dead bed box are all different names for a design technique that basically lets the abrasive material wear on itself. Fine granular material is trapped in small boxes or between strips to protect the material underneath. See our Best Practise on dead bed boxes.
4.
Q: Will plate strips reduce wear in my tipper?
A: Two main functions are achieved by mounting plate strips in the discharge end on a tipper. First, the rocks start to rotate which reduces the wear compared to sliding. Second, the gap between the strips fills with fine abrasive particles and forms a dirt box. Give us a call for further conceptual discussions. Contact WTG
5.
Q: How do I fasten wear plates?
A: Bolts and nuts are usually not made of wear resistant material. There are methods to both avoid wear of the fastening material and to allow the fastening to indicate when a wear plate needs to be replaced. Hard facing and countersinking are commonly used methods to reduce wear at the fastenings. Contact us for detailed advice. Contact WTG
6.Q: What do I do when the wear plate is worn non-uniformly?
A: There are several solutions to extend the service life in an application. A higher grade HARDOX plate or/and a thicker plate at the high wear region is one solution. Other solutions include spot hard facing, change of impingent angle, and plate strips. Wear Technology Group can also suggests how to redesign your structure to increase the cost performance on your application.
 
THE ABRASIVE MATERIAL
1.Q: What is an abrasive material?
A: Any material that causes surface damage through surface penetration. The abrasive material can be termed abrasive body independent of body size. The term abrasive particle refers to sand and/or dust material.
2.
Q: What is the difference between surface damage and wear?
A: Surface damage is a result of abrasive material penetrating the plate surface. Typical surface damages include plastic deformation and/or cutting. Repeated surface damage leads to wear.
3.
Q: Which properties differentiate abrasive materials?
A: The hardness and ‘sharpness’ of the abrasive bodies are important factors. The ability to form new sharp edges is also a parameter that gives different wear properties.
4.Q: What kind of surface damage appears normally in wear? 
A: It depends on the abrasive material and its ‘sharpness’. A hard body with sharp edges is more prone to cut the surface compared to a rounded abrasive body which will plough the material resulting in plastic deformation. Wear Technology Group is ready to assist you in optimising your cost performance.
5.Q: What types of abrasive materials are most common?
A: The most common abrasive materials include rock, sand and ore. In the waste and recycling industry rubber, steel, aluminium, wood and glass are common.
6.Q: Will different types of rocks give different wear?
A: Yes. A rock normally contains many different minerals and each mineral has a specific hardness. The shape of the rock, round or having sharp edges, also determines the abrasive properties of the rock. 
7.
Q: Is it possible to determine the mineral content in a rock?
A: Yes, you can determine the mineral content through X-ray diffraction. It is important to get a significant sample or samples of the rock from the pit or quarry. Wear Technology Group regularly helps our customers in analysing rock material.
8.Q: What should be done once the mineral content is known?
A: With the mineral content identified, a relative wear analysis is possible. In our WearCalc™ software more than 450 minerals are catalogued and the analysis indicates which HARDOX plate is most cost-effective. Wear Technology Group can help you to carry out the mineral analysis as well as the relative wear calculation.
9.Q: What is the difference between erosion wear and impact wear?
A: Erosion is caused by small abrasive particles such as sand or dust impacting a surface at high speed. Impact wear describes larger abrasive bodies at not so high speed impacting a surface at a certain angle.  
 
 
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