Effect of different thermochemical treatments on the electrochemical behaviour of a hot working steel

The X 37CrMoV5 1 KU hot working steel has been quenched and tempered, overcarburised, nitrided and nitrocarburised. The surface layers constituted after the thermochemical treatments were characterised by means of X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, micro‐ and macrohardness indentations. The electrochemical behaviour was evaluated in two different aggressive environments: 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ and 0.1 M NaCl solutions. While the overcarburised and the nitrocarburised samples exhibit a poor electrochemical behaviour, the presence of a nitrided surface layer enhances the corrosion resistance. This is attributable to the protective action of the nitrided layer that hinders the anodic dissolution reaction of the matrix, whereas the presence of complex carbides in the overcarburised or nitrocarburised samples causes the preferential dissolution of the ferritic matrix due to galvanic coupling phenomena. Finally, the poor corrosion resistance exhibited by the nitrocarburised sample can be ascribed to the presence of a large amount of ferrite together with little ε solid solution in the surface layer.     

Study of plasma nitriding and nitrocarburising of AISI 430F stainless steel for high hardness and corrosion resistance

ABSTRACT

In order to improve both the hardness and corrosion resistance properties of AISI 430F stainless steel, plasma nitriding (PN) and nitrocarburising processes were carried out at different temperatures ranging from 350 to 500°C for 4?h. After PN, the nitrided layer was found to be thicker compared to that obtained by plasma nitrocarburising process. There was an increase in microhardness values by a factor of six to seven compared to the plasma nitrided and nitrocarburised specimens respectively, treated at 500°C. The electrochemical corrosion behaviour of the plasma nitrided and nitrocarburised AISI 430F specimens show that the plasma nitrided and nitrocarburised specimens treated at 400°C for 4?h showed better corrosion resistance and higher surface hardness than the untreated AISI 430F stainless steel specimens. This is mainly attributed to the presence of nitrogen in the modified layer existing as a solid solution in the ferrite phase.

This paper is part of a supplementary issue from the 17th Asia-Pacific Corrosion Control Conference (APCCC-17).     

42CrMo钢等离子氮碳共渗厚化合物层工艺及组织性能

研究了42CrMo钢等离子氮碳共渗过程中CO2体积分数、温度、气压对化合物层厚度的影响,并对最佳工艺参数的组织和性能进行了分析。结果表明,42CrMo钢最佳等离子氮碳共渗工艺参数为:N2∶H2=1∶1,CO2体积分数3%,气压500 Pa,温度560℃,时间2 h,2%RE(稀土元素)。处理后化合物层主要由γ’-Fe4N和FeC两相组成,硬度、抗磨损性显著提高。     

奥氏作氮碳共渗工艺及其组织形成

讨论并研究了奥氏体氮碳共渗的各种工艺，提出了其组织形成的机理。     

离子软氮化与离子氧化复合处理

用自行研制的保温式多功能离子热处理炉对 45中碳结构钢进行了离子软氮化与离子氧化复合处理 (Ion(NC +O)复合处理 )。Ion(NC +O)复合渗层是由黑色致密的Fe3O4膜、ε白亮化合物层和γ′扩散层等三部分组成。实验结果显示 ,经Ion(NC +O)双重复合处理后 ,45钢的表面硬度和耐蚀性能都有大幅度的提高。与化学法的QPQ技术相比 ,Ion(NC +O)复合处理技术是一种环境友好的处理技术。     

New Developments in Thermo-Chemical Diffusion Processes

Thermo-chemical diffusion processes like carburising, nitriding and boronizing play an important part in modern manufacturing technologies. They exist in many varieties depending on the type of diffusing element used and the respective process procedure. The most important industrial heat treatment process is case-hardening, which consists of thermochemical diffusion process carburising or its variation carbonitriding, followed by a subsequent quench. The latest developments of using different gaseous carburising agents and increasing the carburising temperature are one main area of this paper.The other area is the evolvement of nitriding and especially the ferritic nitrocarburising process by improved process control and newly developed process variations using carbon, nitrogen and oxygen as diffusing elements in various process steps. Also boronizing and special thermo-chemical processes for stainless steels are discussed.     

Systematic Study of Nanocrystalline Plasma Electrolytic Nitrocarburising of 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel for Corrosion Protection

A number of studies have been reported on the use of nanocrystalline plasma electrolytic nitrocarburising technology for surface hardening of stainless steels for higher corrosion resistance resulted from this technique. However, very few studies have focused on the optimization of the nanocrystalline plasma electrolytic nitrocarburising process parameters. In this study, a design of experiment （DOE） technique, the Taguchi method, has been used to optimize the nanocrystalline plasma electrolytic nitrocarburising not only for surface hardening but also for the corrosion protection of 316L austenitic stainless steel by controlling the coating processes factors. The experimental design consisted of four factors （Urea concentration, electrical conductivity of electrolyte, voltage and duration of process）, each containing three levels. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements were carried out to determine the corrosion resistance of the coated samples. The results were analyzed with related software. An analysis of the mean of signal-to-noise （S/N） ratio indicated that the corrosion resistance of nanocrystalline plasma electrolytic nitrocarburised 316L stainless steel was influenced significantly by the levels in the Taguchi orthogonal array. The optimized coating parameters for corrosion resistance are 1150 g/L for urea concentration, 360 mS/cm for electrical conductivity of electrolyte, 260 V for applied voltage, 6 min for treatment time. The percentage of contribution for each factor was determined by the analysis of variance （ANOVA）. The results showed that the applied voltage is the most significant factor affecting the corrosion resistance of the coatings.     

稀土对软氮化的作用及其在模具上的应用

研究了稀土元素对软氮化过程的影响。结果表明：稀土有明显的催渗作用，渗速可提高３０％～３５％，抗冲击磨损性能、冲击韧性也有所提高。该工艺应用于自行车曲柄热作模具上，其使用寿命与软氮化相比提高了一倍以上。     

S195柴油机减压轴氮碳共渗前清洗剂的研制及应用

分析了用汽油清洗的减压轴氮碳共渗后产生花斑的原因，通过去污机理的研究，比较了几种表面活性剂的渗透，分散能力，选择辛烷基苯酚聚氧乙烯醚－１０为清洗剂的主要成份。