Abstract
In this study, the wear performance of cryogenically treated cold-work tool steel (Vanadis 4 Extra) samples was evaluated in the light of some sliding wear tests. For this purpose, the samples were cryogenically treated for different durations (0, 1, 12, and 24 h) at deep cryogenic temperature (–145 °C). A tempering process was performed at two different temperatures (175 and 525 °C) for 2 h. The wear experiments were carried out in a ball-on-disk tester, by applying two loads of 10 and 20 N and a sliding velocity of 0.3 m s^–1. Experimental results showed that samples treated for 24 h and tempered at 525 °C exhibited the best wear performance. This can be explained by the increasing hardness value as a result of the nearly full transformation of retained austenite to martensite, the formation of fine carbide particles and homogeneous distribution of carbides. The hardness measurements and XRD analysis confirmed the wear test results.

Key words
Vanadis 4 Extra, cryogenic treatment, microstructure; wear resistance

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