Weartech SHS

Weartech SHS is an iron-based steel alloy which features exceptional resistance to abrasion, corrosion resistance, erosion, impact and high temperature oxidation.  Hardness, corrosion and wear resistance is superior to hard chrome.

Key Performance Characteristics:

• Exceptional abrasion resistance for a metallic material
• Significant corrosion and high temperature oxidation resistance
• Very high bond strength across a range of substrate materials, including aluminum, copper, carbon steel and stainless steel
• Can be finished to very high surface specifications as a replacement for hard chrome
• Hardness and corrosion and wear resistance is superior to hard chrome
• Excels in high sulfur and elevated temperature environments where fly-ash and bed-ash erosion occur

In 2007, The NanoSteel® Company, an industry leading producer of nanostructured steel alloys for industrial applications, licensed patented Super Hard Steel® (SHS) technology to Lincoln Electric, Weartech’s parent company.

Weartech SHS features an ultra-refined crystalline micro-structure, up to a thousand times finer than other solutions, and extreme hardness up to 69 Rc without the use of nickel, molybdenum or tungsten. SHS is produced in a range of cored wire diameters suitable for GMAW/OAW/SAW applications and as an atomized powder for PTAW applications, provides exceptional wear resistance in severe abrasion environments up to five times (5x) that of traditional chrome carbide and complex carbide materials.

Weartech SHS fills a unique position in the wear solutions market by offering customers performance between complex carbide and tungsten carbide products at a cost-effective price. The improved hardness/wear performance and cost-effective pricing of SHS makes it an attractive hardfacing and wear plate welding material for commercial end users needing to extend the service life of mission critical parts. Also, components on ground engaging tools and materials processing equipment used in industries such as mining, construction and oil & gas.

Weartech SHS is available in 25 lb. and 125 to 500 lb. bulk spooled wire packaging for MIG/Open-Arc/Submerged-Arc welding and 10 lb. and 25 lb. container powder packaging for PTA welding.

Weartech SHS is especially resistant to elevated temperature sulfidation attack and is widely used for elevated temperature erosion and corrosion protection of heat exchange tubes in coal fired boilers. As a replacement for hard chrome, it provides improved resistance to mechanical damage and can be polished to a very high surface finish. While conventional corrosion resistant materials are relatively soft, SHS in the as-sprayed condition provides hardness and wear resistance equivalent to hard chrome. Weartech SHS has excellent damage tolerance applicable to harsh service environments in a wide range of industrial applications. Additionally, the extremely fine micro-structure improves toughness, ductility and fatigue resistance. With resistance to abrasion and erosion it is a glass-forming steel alloy formulated with high concentrations of transition metals which readily dissolve in the glass structure. When applied using benchmark thermal spray parameters, an amorphous matrix is formed which contains hard complex nanoscale boron carbide precipitates.

When compared to existing competitive coatings, the micro-structures formed in the as-sprayed or fully devitrified (heat treated after spraying) state provide superior resistance to abrasive wear and fine particle erosion. Damage Tolerance of Weartech SHS coatings feature superior toughness and resiliency. Impact testing was done using a Gardner drop impact testing machine at impact energies of 120, 240, 360 and 480 psi. As-sprayed Weartech SHS coating samples withstood impacts of up to 480 in-lbs. without cracking, chipping or delaminating, while demonstrating the ability to deform with the substrate. Additionally, the specific high-transition metal chemistry (chromium, molybdenum, tungsten and niobium) of Weartech SHS provides excellent corrosion resistance. The ability to withstand high impact and resist extreme abrasion and corrosion makes SHS9172HV an excellent hard chrome alternative.