Effect of Rare Earth Ce Addition on Friction and Wear Property of Carburized Gear Steel 18CrNiMo7-6

doi:10.11901/1005.3093.2026.135

Chinese Journal of Materials Research

2026, Vol. 40

Issue (9): 641-652 DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2026.135

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Effect of Rare Earth Ce Addition on Friction and Wear Property of Carburized Gear Steel 18CrNiMo7-6

HE Yimei¹^,², FU Zhihao¹, YANG Chaoyun¹^,²(

), LIU Hang¹, LIU Peng¹, LI Xing¹, SHI Shuai³, ZHAO Yanqing³, LUAN Yikun¹^,²(

), LI Dianzhong¹^,²

^1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
^2.Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
^3.HBIS Group Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang 050400, China

Cite this article:

HE Yimei, FU Zhihao, YANG Chaoyun, LIU Hang, LIU Peng, LI Xing, SHI Shuai, ZHAO Yanqing, LUAN Yikun, LI Dianzhong. Effect of Rare Earth Ce Addition on Friction and Wear Property of Carburized Gear Steel 18CrNiMo7-6. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(9): 641-652.

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Abstract

Heavy-duty gears used in rail transit and wind power sectors often require carburizing treatment to enhance their wear resistance during service. However, conventional carburizing processes face certain limitations in improving efficiency. Studies have shown when the rare earth (RE) elements are involved in some way, the carburizing atmosphere may be modified, thus increase the carburizing efficiency, and further enhance the wear resistance of the steels. Nevertheless, most existing research has focused on introducing exogenous RE elements into the steel surface during the carburizing process, while the effect of RE addition during steelmaking on the wear resistance of carburized gear steel remains insufficiently explored. In this study, 18CrNiMo7-6 gear steels with different Ce addition were prepared and subjected successively to heat treating at 1150 ^oC for 6 h, forging at 900 ^oC to 1150 ^oC, normalizing treatment at 880 ^oC for 2 h and followed by carburizing, quenching and tempering etc. Then the effect of RE addition on their friction and wear behavior was characterized via oil-lubricated sliding wear tester, contact profilometry, white light interferometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, transmission Kikuchi diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in terms of the surface morphology, subsurface microstructure evolution, and oxide scale composition on wear tracks. The results indicate that Ce addition can effectively mitigate the abrasive wear and improve the friction and wear behavior of the carburized gear steels during the steady-state wear stage, transforming the wear mechanism from a coexistence of abrasive wear and oxidative wear to oxidative wear-dominated mechanism, thereby significantly enhancing the wear resistance of carburized gear steel. Compared with carburized gear steel without RE, the wear volume of the carburized gear steels with 0.0078%Ce and 0.0126%Ce (mass fraction) is reduced by 55.3% and 49.2%, respectively. The improved wear resistance after Ce addition may be attributed to the increased hardness of the carburized layer and the modification of inclusion in the steels. The low surface hardness of the steel without RE may facilitate severe abrasive wear and pronounced subsurface plastic deformation, which readily leads to oxide scale fragmentation. Ce addition may be conductive to increasing the surface hardness of carburized gear steels, alleviating the subsurface plastic deformation, facilitating the formation of compact oxide scale, and consequently enhancing the oxidative wear resistance. Nevertheless, with the increasing Ce content, the continuously increased surface hardness results in further suppression of subsurface deformation, and there exists an increase in inclusion population and size. These two factors lead to the formation of thin, discontinuously distributed oxide scales, thereby compromising the wear resistance.

Key words: metallic materials rare earth heavy-duty gear steel friction and wear oxide film

Received: 06 March 2026

ZTFLH:

TG142.12

Fund: National Major Science and Technology Project of China(2025ZD0617900);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52404354);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52501193)

Corresponding Authors: YANG Chaoyun, Tel: (024) 23971973, E-mail: cyyang14s@imr.ac.cn;
LUAN Yikun, Tel: (024) 23971973, E-mail: ykluan@imr.ac.cn

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	Articles by authors
	HE Yimei
	FU Zhihao
	YANG Chaoyun
	LIU Hang
	LIU Peng
	LI Xing
	SHI Shuai
	ZHAO Yanqing
	LUAN Yikun
	LI Dianzhong

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https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2026.135 OR https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I9/641

Table 1 Chemical compositions of experimental steels (mass fraction, %)

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of carburizing and heat treatment process for heavy-duty gear steel

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of the reciprocating friction and wear test apparatus

Fig.3 Distribution map of carbon concentration (a), SEM images of the carburized surface layer structure (b-d), distribution map of hardness (e), typical inclusions in 0RE steel (f), typical inclusions in RE steel (g), size distribution map of inclusions (h), inclusion number density (i); (b) 0RE steel, (c) 78RE steel, (d) 126RE steel

Fig.4 Friction coefficient curves (a) and wear volume (b) of the tested steels

Fig.5 WLI morphologies (a-c) and corresponding cross-sectional profiles s (d-f) of the wear track surfaces (a, d) 0RE steel, (b, e) 78RE steel, (c, f) 126RE steel

Fig.6 OM images of the wear track surfaces (a) 0RE steel, (b) 78RE steel, (c) 126RE steel

Fig.7 SEM images of the wear track surfaces (a-c) and EDS analysis results of O element (d-f) (a, d) 0RE steel, (b, e) 78RE steel, (c, f) 126RE steel

Fig.8 Transmission bright-field images of the subsurface structure of the wear track (a-c) and the corresponding SAED patterns (d-f), TEM bright-field images of the near-surface section of the wear track and O element EDS analysis results (g-i) (a, d, g) 0RE steel, (b, e, h) 78RE steel, (c, f, i) 126RE steel

Fig.9 TKD analysis results of the subsurface structure of the wear marks (a-c) BC maps, (d-f) IPF maps, (g-i) GND maps; (a, d, g) 0RE steel, (b, e, h) 78RE steel, (c, f, i) 126RE steel

Fig.10 XPS full-spectrum analysis of the surface oxide film (a) and detailed analysis of Fe (b-d) (b) 0RE steel, (c) 78RE steel, (d) 126RE steel

Fig.11 Fitting results of the fine peaks of the Fe 2p spectrum after 10 s of sputtering of the oxide film on the worn surface (a) 0RE steel, (b) 78RE steel, (c) 126RE steel

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