SHS 9700 is an iron-based alloy for PTAW hardfacing and wear protection applications that has been designed to be free of high-cost strategic elements such as nickel, tungsten and molybdenum. SHS 9700 is an alternative to nickel based PTAW alloys with up to 40% tungsten carbide for use in moderate to high wear applications. SHS 9700 allows high undercooling to be achieved during welding, resulting in considerable refinement of the microstructure down to a near nanosize (submicron) range. Unlike conventional weld overlay materials which are macrocomposites that contain hard particles and general carbides in a binder, the refined microstructure of SHS 9700 does not incorporate distinct hard particles in a binder and is a uniformly hard matrix when welded. This allows SHS 9700 to provide vastly improved hardness/wear resistance and last significantly longer than conventional macrocomposites.

High Hardness
SHS 9700 will exhibit higher hardness when applied in multiple layers. The micrograph image to the right shows how 68 HRc hardness develops within 75 µm (0.003”) of the weld overlay interface. HRc hardness data points in the micrograph were measured from a single pass SHS 9700 PTAW weld overlay applied to A36 steel plate.

Extreme Abrasion/Erosion Resistance
SHS 9700 can be built up in as many weld passes as necessary with the second and all subsequent layers providing maximum wear resistance of ≤ 0.12 g (+/- 0.02) mass loss in ASTM G65-04 Abrasion Wear Tests.

Damage Tolerance
The superior toughness of SHS 9700 occurs from the in situ formation of high volume fraction of refined complex borocarbide phases during welding which are surrounded by ductile phases. The borocarbide phases, which form during solidification, are completely wetted by the matrix and prevent premature pull-out, delamination and crack nucleation. The refined nature of the borocarbide phases allows the reduction of stress concentration sites and the ductile matrix supplies effective crack blunting and bridging.

Weld Parameters
For SHS 9700 PTAW weld parameters, contact NanoSteel at 1-877-293-NANO or info@nanosteelco.com.