Gas-Shielded Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) was modified to a Flux-Cored-Double-Wire GTAW (FCDW-GTAW); in this technique, wires of different compositions are used simultaneously to obtain different microstructures. In the modified GTAW, automatic flux-cored double-wire was used with a combination of four different wires deposited in AISI1020 steel, allowing different microstructures. Pin-on-disk wear tests described by ASTM G99 was used to evaluate the wear coefficients of four hardfacing materials combining Fe–Cr–C, Fe-Cr-C-Nb, Fe-Cr-C-Mo-Nb, and Fe-Cr-C-Mo-Ti alloys. The combination of these wires resulted in a hypoeutectic microstructure with niobium and titanium carbides, with an average hardness of 650 HV0.3, and hypereutectic microstructures formed by different niobium contents, with a microhardness range from 820 to 1020 HV0.3. The wear tests were performed without lubrication at room temperature, using a 6.0 mm diameter polished alumina sphere as a counter-body. The total distance covered was 1000 m with a speed of 0.1 m/s, a track radius of 6.0 cm, and an applied load of 10 N. Hardness, microstructure, wear coefficient, and wear mechanisms were compared. The results showed that wear resistance could be differentiated by the predominant wear mechanism: polishing for the hypoeutectic hardfacing and cracking for the hypereutectic ones.

Abstract Pollutants have adverse effects on human health and on other organisms that inhabit or use water resources. The aim of the present study was to assess the environmental quality of three watercourses in Monte Carmelo, MG, Brazil, using the micronucleus test on Tradescantia. For each treatment, 15 plants were exposed to water samples for 24 h. The control group was exposed to formaldehyde (0.2%) and the negative control to Hoagland solution. Subsequently the plants were placed in Hoagland solution for 24 h to recover. Cells were stained with 2% acetic carmine and examined by light microscopy. Three hundred tetrads were analyzed per slide. The frequency of genotoxic alterations was expressed as the number of micronuclei per 100 tetrads, and the groups were compared by ANOVA. At all sample sites for each watercourse significant genotoxicity indices were observed. The results suggest that in the Mumbuca creek, the current situation of effluent discharge should be reconsidered by the municipal environmental authorities. The increase in micronucleus frequency denoted for water samples of the Mumbuca creek, Lambari river and Perdizes river emphasizes the need to adopt environmental vigilance strategies, such as biological monitoring.