Swedish steel producer SSAB has introduced Hardox HiAce, a wear-resistant steel designed for applications exposed to both abrasion and corrosive environments, the company said.
The new grade is engineered to address corrosive wear, a process in which oxidation accelerates material loss when abrasive materials interact with corroded steel surfaces. According to SSAB, the alloy composition of Hardox HiAce slows oxidation and helps maintain surface hardness, improving durability in humid or acidic operating conditions.
Hardox HiAce offers a nominal hardness of around 450 HBW, comparable to Hardox 450, while delivering significantly improved performance in corrosive environments. SSAB said the steel can achieve up to 2.7 times longer service life than conventional abrasion-resistant steel products where corrosion and wear occur simultaneously.
The company also noted that Hardox HiAce can serve as an alternative to stainless steel in certain corrosive wear applications, providing higher hardness and improved abrasion resistance while maintaining lower material costs compared with many stainless grades.
The steel is designed to withstand operating temperatures of up to around 500 Celsius and is available in plate thicknesses ranging from approximately 3 mm to 100 mm. It can be processed using standard cutting, welding and forming methods used for other Hardox grades, allowing integration into existing fabrication processes.
Typical applications include waste handling, recycling, biomass processing, mining, agriculture, and the pulp and paper industries, where equipment is exposed to both abrasive materials and corrosive substances.
SSAB said Hardox HiAce aims to extend equipment life and reduce total ownership costs for operators working in aggressive wear environments by combining corrosion resistance with high hardness and toughness.
SSAB is a leading producer of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and quenched and tempered (Q&T) steel products, with an annual crude steel capacity of about 8.8 mln tons across its operations in Sweden, Finland, and the United States.
