Hardox® 500 Tuf lives up to its promise in dumptruck beds

Mika Stensson, SSAB’s technical development manager, visited Rådmansö to determine whether the steel performed as promised. All signs had pointed in the right direction, and the result exceeded his expectations.

When measuring the end section of the 6 mm (0.24″) bottom with an ultrasonic thickness probe, it showed wear of only around 5% after more than a year in operation. The dumptruck bed’s bottom and sides showed practically no dents or other signs of damage. Also impressive was the condition of the plate edge, which looked almost like new.

• Up to 2 times longer service life possible compared with Hardox^® 400
• Highly dent and crack resistant when hit by sharp, heavy objects
• Proven performance in freezing conditions (guaranteed impact energy of 27 J at ‑20°C/ 20 ft-lb at -4 °F)
• Tight dimensional tolerances, clean and consistent for outstanding workshop reliability
• Tough enough to perform as a structural material
  
  
  
  
  

SLP is a successful truck body and trailer manufacturer located in Övertorneå in the far north of Sweden, just below the Arctic Circle. It is a licensed member of SSAB’s Hardox^® In My Body member program, which ensures that the company’s products are made according to strict requirements for material choice, design and production methods.

SLP manufactured its dumptruck and trailer bodies with the bottom plate in Hardox^® 500 Tuf. The full-length plates were bent by SSAB Shape and then shipped to SLP. The 6 mm (0.24″) bottom in Hardox^® 500 Tuf and 5 mm (0.2″) side plates in Hardox^® 450 were MIG-welded manually with overlapping seams. SLP worked as usual with the welding and machining needed to finalize the bodies. No pre-heating is necessary for Hardox^® 500 Tuf plates with a thickness of 16 mm (0.63″) or less.

Hardox^® 500 Tuf is the latest upgrade in the Hardox^® range. It has an unusually narrow Brinell hardness window of 475-505 HBW. The guaranteed impact energy is 27 J at -20°C (20 ft-lb at -4 °F), at -40°C (-40 °F) the typical value is 45 J (33 ft-lb). Superior wear and dent resistance give extended service life and the ability to endure heavy impact. Hardox^® 500 Tuf is tough enough to perform as a structural material in heavy-duty dump bodies, containers and buckets, even in freezing conditions. Typical working conditions include the loading and unloading of heavy and sharp rocks in quarries and mines, handling large and heavy steel scrap, and in demolition when pieces of concrete with rebar are loaded or dropped into tippers. Based on sliding wear with granite, the estimated relative service life for Hardox^® 500 Tuf is 85-100% longer than for Hardox^® 400 according to WearCalc.