H adfield steel is widely used to manufacture various parts for mining, machine-building, metallurgy, railway and other industries. Wide application of this steel can be explained by a unique set of performance characteristics including improved wear resistance under loads [1][2][3][4] . In spite of the fact that this steel has been used for quite a long time, in recent decades it has been attracting considerable interest of scientists in different countries [5] . Most investigations are aimed at improving its performance characteristics. This can be achieved by means of surface hardening [6][7][8][9] , alloying [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and decreasing in the content of detrimental impurities [20,21] . Another way to improve the properties of this manganese steel is to investigate Abstract: The paper describes the investigation of mechanisms of cast structure formation in Hadfield steel depending on the changes in the cooling rate of a casting in the following two temperature ranges: crystallization temperature (1,200-1,390 °С) and the temperature of excessive phase separation (560-790 °С). Changes in the cooling rate of the crystallization temperature range from 1.1 to 25.0 °С•s -1 result in the reduction of the average size of austenite grains from 266 to 131 µm. At the same time, the magnitude of developing shrinkage stresses changes from +195 to 0 MPa. When the cooling rate is higher than 16 °С•s its deformation mechanism as well as the influence of various factors on this mechanism [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] . There are a number of papers concerned with the investigation of the microstructure and properties of Hadfield steel in the as-cast and the heat-treated states [37][38][39][40][41] . The literature review shows that the performance characteristics of steel are influenced by its parameters, such as its microstructure, chemical composition (including content of certain structural components) and the stressed state. However, these relationships cannot be used in the process of production of specific items as the research was carried out using model homogenized alloys, and the cooling rate in the process of structure forming was not taken into account. At the same time, the wide range of products from this steel includes castings weighing from one to several hundred kilograms. This influences cooling rates during and after crystallization. Further, it is reflected in the changes of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of their cast structure. The cast structure, in its turn, is essential, and its relationships are inherited even after heat treatment.
V ol.13 No.6 November 2016O v e r s e a s F o u n d r y CHINA FOUNDRY In order to predict the performance characteristics of castings on the basis of the earlier research works, it is necessary to carry out a number of further investigations. In particular, it is necessary to study the influence of the cooling rate on the structure of the as-cast Hadfield steel. This relationship will provide the depen...