An austenitic manganese steel microalloyed with nitrogen, vanadium and
titanium used for castings such as mantles, bowls and jaws manufactured as
wear components of crushers in the mining and aggregate industries,
hammers used in scrap shredders, frogs and switches used in railway
crossings and buckets and track shoes used in mining power shovels. These
novel compositions exhibit a fine grain size having carbonitride
precipitates that result in castings having a wear life 20-70% longer than
prior art castings. The austenitic manganese steel includes, in weight
percentages, the following: about 11.0% to 24.0% manganese, about 1.0% to
1.4% carbon, up to about 1% silicon, up to about 1.9% chromium, up to
about 0.25% nickel, up to about 1.0% molybdenum, up to about 0.2%
aluminum, up to about 0.25% copper, phosphorus and sulfur present as
impurities in amounts of about 0.07% max and about 0.06% max.
respectively, microalloying additions of titanium in the amounts of about
0.020-0.070%, optionally, microalloying additions of niobium in amounts
from about 0.020-0.070%, microalloying additions of vanadium in amounts
from about 0.020-0.070%, nitrogen in amounts from about 100 to 1000 ppm,
and such that the total amount of the microalloying additions of
titanium+niobium+vanadium+nitrogen is no less than about 0.05% and no
greater than about 0.22%, the ratio of carbon to microalloying additions
being in the range of about 10:1-25:1, and the balance of the alloy being
essentially iron, the alloy being characterized by a substantial absence
of zirconium and the presence of titanium carbonitride precipitates.