Glass forming hardbanding material

1. A method of applying a hardband to a drill pipe containing a tool joint circumference, comprising:

welding around at least a portion of said tool joint circumference a hardbanding alloy comprising iron and manganese present in the range of 67 to 87 weight percent (wt. %), niobium and chromium present in the range of 9 to 29, and boron, carbon and silicon present in the range of 3 to 6.5 wt. %; and

cooling said hardbanding alloy, wherein said hardbanding alloy as welded exhibits a hardness of 45 Rc to 70 Rc and a wear rate in the range of 0.08 grams to 1.60 grams of mass loss after 6,000 cycles as measured using ASTM G65-04, Procedure A;

wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises:

iron present in the range of 67.0 to 86.0 wt. %;

manganese present in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 wt. %;

niobium present in the range of 3.5 to 6.0 wt. %;

chromium present in the range of 6.0 to 23.0 wt. %;

boron present in the range of 2.5 to 4.5 wt. %;

carbon present in the range of 0.5 to 2 wt. %; and

silicon present in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt. % wherein said alloy contains up to 2.0 wt. % of an elemental impurity.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising preheating a tool joint at a temperature of 275° C. or greater for a period of 0.01 hours to 100 hours.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said hardbanding alloy is cooled at a rate sufficient to produce alpha-iron and/or gamma-iron phases in the range of 0.05 μm to 50 μm in size.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises:

iron present in the range of 67.3 to 86.0 wt. %;

manganese present in the range of 0.10 to 0.27 wt. %;

niobium present in the range of 3.6 to 5.9 wt. %;

chromium present in the range of 6.4 to 22.9 wt. %;

boron present in the range of 2.5 to 4.2 wt. %;

carbon present in the range of 0.7 to 1.2 wt. %; and

silicon present in the range of 0.25 to 0.5 wt. %

wherein said alloy contains up to 2.0 wt. % of an elemental impurity.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said hardbanding alloy exhibits metal boride phases (M 2 B, wherein M is a transition metal) sized in the range of 0.5 μm to 5 μm.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises exhibits borocarbide phases containing iron, chromium and/or molybdenum transition metals.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said tool joint exhibits a hardness of less than 100 R B .

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said tool joint comprises iron present at 95 atomic percent (at %) or more, carbon present at 0.2 atomic percent to 0.5 atomic percent, and manganese present in the range of 0.5 atomic percent to 1.5 atomic percent.

9. A drill pipe, comprising:

a tool joint having a circumference; and

a hardband disposed around at least a portion of said tool joint circumference, wherein said hardband includes a hardbanding alloy comprising iron and manganese present in the range of 67 to 87 weight percent (wt. %), niobium and chromium present in the range of 9 to 29 wt. %, and boron, carbon and silicon present in the range of 3 to 6.5 wt. %, wherein said hardbanding alloy exhibits a hardness of 45 Rc to 70 Rc and a wear rate in the range of 0.08 grams to 1.60 grams of mass loss after 6,000 cycles as measured using ASTM G65-04, Procedure A;

wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises:

iron present in the range of 67.0 to 86.0 wt. %;

manganese present in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 wt. %;

niobium present in the range of 3.5 to 6.0 wt. %;

chromium present in the range of 6.0 to 23.0 wt. %;

boron present in the range of 2.5 to 4.5 wt. %;

carbon present in the range of 0.5 to 2 wt. %; and

silicon present in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt. % wherein said alloy contains up to 2.0 wt. % of an elemental impurity.

10. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy exhibits alpha-iron and/or gamma-iron phases in the range of 0.05 μm to 50 μm in size as applied to said tool joint.

11. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises:

iron present in the range of 67.0 to 86.0 wt. %;

manganese present in the range of 0.05 to 0.3 wt. %;

niobium present in the range of 3.5 to 6.0 wt. %;

chromium present in the range of 6.0 to 23.0 wt. %;

boron present in the range of 2.5 to 4.5 wt. %;

carbon present in the range of 0.5 to 2 wt. %; and

silicon present in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt. %

wherein said alloy contains up to 2.0 wt. % of an elemental impurity.

12. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises:

iron present in the range of 67.3 wt. % to 86.0 wt. %;

manganese present in the range of 0.10 to 0.27 wt. %;

niobium present in the range of 3.6 to 5.9 wt. %;

chromium present in the range of 6.4 to 22.9 wt. %;

boron present in the range of 2.5 to 4.2 wt. %;

carbon present in the range of 0.7 to 1.2 wt. %; and

silicon present in the range of 0.25 to 0.5 wt. %

wherein said alloy contains up to 2.0 wt. % of an elemental impurity.

13. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy exhibits an onset melting temperature of 1137° C. to 1202° C. as determined by differential scanning calorimetry or differential thermal analysis measured at 10° C. per minute.

14. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said tool joint exhibits a hardness of less than 100 R B .

15. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy exhibits metal boride phases (M 2 B, wherein M is a transition metal) sized in the range of 0.5 μm to 5 μm.

16. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said hardbanding alloy further comprises exhibits borocarbide phases containing iron, chromium and/or molybdenum transition metals.

17. The drill pipe of claim 9 , wherein said drill pipe comprises iron present at 95 atomic percent (at %) or more, carbon present at 0.2 atomic percent to 0.5 atomic percent, and manganese present in the range of 0.5 atomic percent to 1.5 atomic percent.