Value in the use of high alloy manganese is optimized when the material being reduced has a compressive strength value of 50k p.s.i. and a silica content of .5.

The optimum value we’ve experienced with our Xtralloy material has doubled service life under these material conditions. As both the strength and silica factors deviate one way or the other from either of these standards, the value in using high alloy manganese diminishes for different reasons. For example, a 20k p.s.i. material with a .2 silica content would reduce so easily that improved wear would be difficult to detect. On the other end of the scale, a material with an 80k p.s.i. strength value and a .8 silica content would be so difficult to fracture that the manganese casting would likely fail through fatigue being fully expended.

There’s a ratio of manganese content to carbon level that provides the most fatigue resistant manganese parts. As the intersect point between the highs and lows of those strength and abrasiveness scales deviate from the established optimum 50k and .5 values, the added benefit of the high alloy material reduces from a maximum service life increase of double. This information is based on data recorded during the development of Columbia Steel’s Xtralloy premium manganese steel.