Possibilities of modification of ploughshares used for winter maintenance of forest roads

Abstract

The article presents partial results of research to increase the service life of snow ploughshares, which are used for winter maintenance of forest transport roads. The main working tool of vehicles -snow plough is the arrow ploughshare. It is made as a weldment. The contact tool, when in contact with the road, is the rake blade, which is subject to abrasive wear. The experiment consisted of analysing the current state of materials, designing and exploring such options that would ensure a longer service life of the blades. Welding material was designed to be applied to the base material of the blade. Furthermore, the HARDOX 450 was designed for the production of the whole ploughshare. The last design was welding HARDOX 450 with an electrode OK 48.00 with the base material steel 11 484. This proposal is presented in more detail in the article. The hardness of HBW, HV and HRC was measured on the samples and microscopic analysis was performed using light and electron microscopy. The aim was to determine the quality of the connection of materials, mixing in the connection zone and comparison with the condition on the original blade. It is assumed that a suitable choice of welding electrode or a suitable choice of abrasion-resistant steel can achieve an effective increase in the life of the snow plougshare, whether from a technical or economic point of view.

Analysis of Damaged Delimber Knives and the Possibility of Increasing their Service Life

“…The use of hardfacing materials, which are better in structure and mechanical properties than the original material, is very widespread in technical practice. By hard welding deposit, we protect parts exposed to wear of various types [13]. The aim is to obtain resistance to a certain type of wear or certain specific properties.…”

“…We assume that a different electrode was used on the original weldment. When choosing the OK 48.00 electrode, we used the data for HARDOX welding [13]. In Fig.…”

Research of Resistance of Selected Materials to Abrasive Wear to Increase the Ploughshare Lifetime

“…The material from grooves is usually removed in the form of loose particles [8][9][10]. The material resistance against abrasive wear is higher with higher hardness [5,11].…”

“…Wear resistance increases with the increasing hardness of hard structural components (carbides, borides, etc.) and with their increasing share in the structure [9,12].…”

“…During impact wear, the material is exposed to impact and high pressure, due to which it deforms or locally breaks-it can even crack. Due to the relatively high working speeds of ploughshare vehicles, it is necessary to protect the ploughshare from the effects of the impact of the ploughshare hitting with a solid obstacle, e.g., ice and abrasion by mineral particles, gravel and stones [9,12].…”