Need to fight abrasion and wear in heavy-duty applications? You can rely on SSAB, the expert with nearly 50 years of experience in abrasion-resistant steels. Choose from one of the world’s widest ranges of grades, thicknesses and widths – and cut lead times in your workshop, extend equipment performance and service life, and increase productivity.
So, what is abrasion-resistant steel?
Abrasion-resistant steel, or AR steel, is mainly used for applications where abrasion and wear are the causes of failure, and not in infrastructure like buildings or bridges. Typical uses include buckets and other heavy equipment attachments, dump and trailer bodies, concrete mixers, garbage trucks, wear liners and wear parts, such as cutting edges.
AR steel plate is made from steel slabs containing different alloys. Of these alloys, carbon plays a key role in making wear plate abrasion-resistant, because it increases the steel’s hardness. When the carbon increases, the hardness increases, but the toughness is reduced making it more susceptible to cracking.
That’s why good steelmaking processes are vital. You need just the right recipe that balances alloying, heat treatment and chemistry to get the properties you want. At SSAB, we believe we have perfected our recipe for steels that provide maximum toughness and strength yet do not usually require preheating for excellent welding and cutting results.
Through-hardened steel: Strong and tough to the core
We produce our abrasion-resistant steel through a process known as quenching and tempering (Q&T). In this process, the grain structure is changed to increase the toughness and improve formability, making it less brittle. This results in through-hardening of the steel.
Hardox® premium AR steel plate from SSAB is through-hardened, delivering better performance than milder steels that are only surface hardened. Through-hardened steel undergoes a heat treatment in which the steel is exposed to high-temperature heating followed by controlled cooling. This improves the hardness not just of the outer layer, but right through to the core of the steel.
Hardox® wear steel has a unique combination of hardness and toughness and due to its properties, can be used as a structural wear plate. Fabricators can bend, machine, drill and weld it and, in many cases, no preheating is needed. And the steel’s consistent, guaranteed properties mean greater predictability and productivity in the workshop.
Which abrasion-resistant wear fighter is right for you?
Abrasion-resistant steel can last up to 4 times longer than mild steel. Popular grades of Hardox® AR steel include AR400, AR450, AR500, AR550, AR600 and Hardox® 500 Tuf, our latest grade at 475-505 HBW, combining the best properties of AR450 steel and AR500 steel for high hardness, high toughness and wear resistance, especially for extreme-duty applications.
But which grade and steel type are right for you and your project? Do you need steel plate, tubes, pipes or bars? Our experts will help you find the perfect match for your application and the right balance between hardness, strength and formability that will give you a lasting impact on your product – and your business.
Industries and uses for SSAB’s abrasion-resistant steel
- Earthmoving equipment and attachments
- Construction, demolition and recycling
- Material handling, crushing and conveying
- Mining, quarrying and processing
- Cement and other industrial plants
- Agricultural and forestry machinery
- Trucks, trailers and other vehicles
Other wear steels from SSAB
Besides strong and tough Hardox® wear plate, we offer other wear-fighting AR steels. Duroxite® overlay can add weeks, months or even years of trouble-free operations to your equipment. Delivered as plate, pipe, pin or wire. Simply weld it or bolt it on – no need for any special equipment – or fabricate it further in the workshop.
SSAB boron steel enhances steel hardenability. You can reduce or eliminate tempering, use your current quenching process and expect highly predictable results, every time. You can quench in oil, water-polymer solutions or plain water. Tubes, pipes and round bars help you get rolling with versatile, ready-to-use AR steels with the same guaranteed properties as our wear plate.
SSAB boron steel enhances steel hardenability. You can reduce or eliminate tempering, use your current quenching process and expect highly predictable results, every time. You can quench in oil, water-polymer solutions or plain water. Tubes, pipes and round bars help you get rolling with versatile, ready-to-use AR steels with the same guaranteed properties as our wear plate.
Duroxite® overlay
