SSAB Hardox HiAce
Swedish-based special steel maker, SSAB, has introduced Hardox® HiAce, an innovative wear-resistant material engi- neered to outperform conventional abrasion-resistant (AR) steels, stainless steels and even ceramics in environments where wear, corrosion and elevated temperatures combine. Hardox® HiAce: where abrasion, corrosion and heat meet
Hardox® HiAce steel was proven in extreme heat conditions at the exit from the coke plant of SSAB’s Oxelösund mill. Pitting corrosion is a common cause of leakage and costly maintenance in garbage trucks using traditional AR steels. Hardox® HiAce eliminated this risk while extending operational life. In addition, Hardox® HiAce can with- stand heat up to 400 °C. Equipment op- erating at elevated temperatures can experience damaging heat spikes that can adversely affect conventional AR steels. Where these steels rapidly lose hardness and wear resistance, Hardox® HiAce main- tains its excellent properties and wear resistance up to at least 400°C. This offers a dependable thermal buffer, long-term stability and reliable performance even during prolonged exposure. This was proven in extreme heat condi- tions at SSAB’s coke plant. After red-hot coke exits the coal furnaces at SSAB’s Oxelö- sund mill, it is water-cooled and discharged onto sliding ramps while still extremely hot, creating a challenging environment because the coke is mildly to moderately corrosive and abrasive. When one of the ramps required new liner plates, Hardox® HiAce was chosen for its combined resistance to abrasion, impact, corrosion and heat. After months of operation, wear levels were even lower than anticipated. Other high-temperature applications for Hardox® HiAce in steel mills include quenching wagons, cooling beds, slag tip- pers and furnace inlet scrapers. Additional high-temperature applica- tions include: • Dryer drums and lifter plates in asphalt plants. • Clinker cooler plates and liner plates in cement plants. • Ash-handling equipment and chain conveyors in power plants. • Foundry scrapers and screeners. • Crusher liner plates and clinker ham- mers. At Conexpo 2026 in the Las Vegas Conven- tion Centre during March, the superior performance of Hardox® HiAce and other SSAB Hardox® grades was on show. www.ssab.com
S teelmaker SSAB has taken innova- tion in wear-resistant materials a de- cisive step forward. Hardox® HiAce is engineered to outperform conventional abrasion-resistant (AR) steels, stainless steels and even ceramics in environments where wear, corrosion and elevated tem- peratures combine. It offers the same excel- lent hardness, yield strength and toughness as the renowned Hardox® 450 wear plate. Unlike traditional materials that often excel only in one dimension, Hardox® HiAce delivers a combination of: Superior hard- ness and strength; Resistance to corrosive wear; High performance at high tempera- tures; and workshop-friendly fabrication that needs no special infrastructure. High- or low-pH environments, com- bined with abrasion and impact, can create corrosive wear mechanisms that rapidly degrade conventional steels and damage equipment. Acids, sulphates, ammonia and salts can oxidise steel surfaces, accelerate wear rates and dramatically reduce service life. In these conditions, higher hardness alone is not enough. Hardox® HiAce was developed to resist this complex degradation scenario. It pro- vides the hardness needed for abrasion resistance while maintaining structural integrity in chemically aggressive environ- ments. Typical industrial uses include: waste collection, pulp and paper, wood handling, recycling, mining, agriculture and transportation. Why stainless steel falls short Stainless steels perform well in purely cor- rosive environments. But when abrasion and impact are introduced, their lower
For Scania recycling and waste-disposal trucks in Sweden, Hardox® HiAce steel is now being used to extend the life of truck bodies. hardness limits service life. According to internal testing at SSAB, Hardox® HiAce outperforms both stainless steel S304 and AR400 steel under abrasive, pH 4 conditions. “The main reason Hardox® HiAce outperforms stainless steel is its significantly higher hardness and dent re- sistance,” says Jonas Allebert, Senior Wear Specialist at SSAB. In the corrosive wear tests, Hardox® HiAce achieved: • Up to 20% longer service life than stain- less steel. • No signs of pitting corrosion. • A more cost-efficient solution compared to stainless steel. Proven performance Over six years and 106 000 km, SSAB monitored a garbage truck operated by the Swedish company Allmiljö, where Hardox® HiAce flooring replaced stainless steel S304. Only 40% wear was measured at the most exposed point; no pitting corrosion was observed; and the floor integrity remained intact. “At this wear rate, the extended service life fully meets the operator’s require- ments,” Allebert points out.
Table 1: Life comparison results between stainless steel and Hardox® HiAce tested in pH 4 abrasive conditions.
Material
Hardness HBW
Typical toughness (J at -40 °C
Relative service life corrosive wear*
Relative cost*
Hardox® HiAce
450
50
1
1 2
Stainless steel S304 ≤201
60 J at -40 °C 45 J at -40 °C
0.8 0.5
AR 400 steel
400
1.7
*Service life and cost figures are relative and based on real-world conditions at the time of writing. They should not be interpreted as guaranteed outcomes for specific applications.
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March-April 2026
AFRICAN FUSION
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