Duplex Aging and Gas Nitriding Process as a Method of Surface Modification of Titanium Alloys for Aircraft Applications

This study discusses the effect of a duplex aging + nitriding process on the wear resistance of an aged double-phase titanium alloy, BT22. Nitriding was applied simultaneously with the heat treatment of the alloy, which is advantageous over the conventional heat and surface treatment methods applied to titanium alloys. According to the results, the thickness of the case depth of the nitrided samples was 40–50 μm. Moreover, nitrogen was uniformly dispersed in the substrate, which was indicated by the hardness tests. The average microhardness of the substrate material was 300 HV0.01, while the hardness of the top layer was 1190 HV0.01, which is an almost four-fold increase. The applied duplex treatment substantially affected the wear performance of the tested alloy. For the untreated alloy, the maximum coefficient of friction was 0.8, while in the surface-modified sample, the maximum fluctuations reached 0.6. The abrasive wear process was dominant in the nitrided samples, while delamination and adhesive wear were observed for the untreated specimens. The nitrided alloy exhibited double the wear resistance of the untreated samples. The proposed treatment does not require additional time or energy consumption, providing a substantial technological advantage over conventional methods. Though the alpha case reduces the mechanical performance of titanium, the nitriding of only the component sections intended to withstand friction will have a positive effect.

Application of technical nitrogen during gas nitriding austenitic steels

The possibility of using technical nitrogen including 0,2% O2 for activation austenitic steels surfaces during gas nitriding were investigated. By changing mole fraction of technical nitrogen i NH3 /N2t mixture one can regulate oxygen potential of gas atmosphere during heating the steel to nitriding temperature and sometimes during nitriding process. Four representative austenitic steels were nitrided with good results at 570°C and under 450°C. New method can be alternative to regulating oxygen potential by air and allows avoiding installing of firing mechanism and safety control.

A Facile Nitriding Approach for Improved Impact Wear of Martensitic Cold-Work Steel Using H2/N2 Mixture Gas in an AC Pulsed Atmospheric Plasma Jet

In this study, we propose a rapid plasma-assisted nitriding process using H2/N2 mixture gas in an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) system to treat the surface of SKD11 cold-working steel in order to increase its surface hardness. The generated NH radicals in the plasma region are used to implement an ion-bombardment for nitriding the tempered martensite structure of SKD11 within 18 min to form the functional nitride layer with an increased microhardness around 1095 HV0.3. Higher ratios of H/E and H3/E2 were obtained for the values of 4.514 × 10−2 and 2.244 × 10−2, referring to a higher deformation resistance as compared with the pristine sample. After multi-cycling impact tests, smaller and shallower impact craters with less surface oxidation on plasma-treated SKD11 were distinctly proven to have the higher impact wear resistance. Therefore, the atmospheric pressure plasma nitriding process can enable a rapid thermochemical nitriding process to form a protective layer with unique advantages that increase the deformation-resistance and impact-resistance, improving the lifetime of SKD11 tool steel as die materials.

The effect of cold rolling and high-temperature gas nitriding on austenite phase formation in AISI 430 SS

Austenitic stainless steel is the most commonly used material in the production of orthopedic prostheses. In this study, AISI 430 SS (0.12 wt. % C; 1 wt. % Si; 1 wt. % Mn; 18 wt. % Cr; 0.04 wt. % P and 0.03 wt. % S) will be modified by creating austenite and removing its ferromagnetic properties via the high-temperature gas nitriding process. Cold rolling with various percentage reduction (30, 50, and 70 %) was followed by gas nitriding at a temperature of 1200 °C with holding times of 5, 7, and 9 hours, then quenching in water was carried out on as-annealed AISI 430 SS. The formation of the austenite phase was examined by XRD (x-ray diffraction). The microstructure and element dispersion were observed using SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometry), whereas the mechanical properties after gas nitriding and water quenching were determined by Vickers microhardness testing. At all stages of the gas nitriding process, the FCC iron indicated the austenite phase was visible on the alloy's surface, although the ferrite phase is still present. The intensity of austenite formation is produced by cold rolling 70 % reduction with a 5-hour gas nitriding time. Furthermore, the nitrogen layer was formed with a maximum thickness layer of approximately 3.14 µm after a 50 % reduction in cold rolling and 9 hours of gas nitriding process followed by water quenching. The hardness reached 600 HVN in this condition. This is due to the distribution of carbon that is concentrated on the surface. As the percent reduction in the cold rolling process increases, the strength of AISI 430 SS after gas nitriding can increase, causing an increase in the number of dislocations. The highest tensile strength and hardness of AISI 430 SS of 669 MPa and 271.83 HVN were obtained with a reduction of 70 %.

The Duplex Coating Formation Using Plasma Nitriding and CrN PVD Deposition on X39CrMo17-1 Stainless Steel

The nitriding process is a well-known technology for increasing of wear resistance of steel. The conventional gas nitriding process of stainless steel is difficult in the case of surface passivation and formation of Cr2O3. The using of plasma enables to form hard surface area during the nitriding process. The plasma nitriding process was developed using Ionit Metaplas device. The kinetic growth was analysed in 2, 4, 6 and 8 h processes. The plasma gasses composition was selected for formation only diffusion layer without “white area” of nitrides. The microstructure, chemical and phase composition were analysed. As a result, the diffusion layer was formed. The iron nitrides formed the precipitations in the diffusion layer. The obtained results showed that 4h process enables to form nitride layer with required composition and hardness. The relationship between process time and nitride layer thickness and its hardness was observed.

INFLUENCE OF PRE-OXIDATION ON THE NITRIDING PROCESS OF IRON ALLOYS

The article presents the results of studying the kinetics of oxidation of Fe-Cr, Fe-Al and iron alloys at temperatures of 450–550 °C. The influence of preliminary oxidation of these alloys on the nitriding process has been studied. It has been established that alloying of Fe-Cr, Fe-Al alloys increases the amount of absorbed nitrogen, but decreases the overall depth of the nitrided layer. The duration of nitriding required to develop high hardness (over HV 1,000) depends on the composition of the solid solution. At a nitriding temperature of 520 °C, exposure is 10–15 minutes for steels of the first group, at least 3–4 h for steels of the second and third groups, and 5–6 h for steels of the fourth group. Studies have shown that the hardness of the layer is determined mainly by the composition of the solid solution; the amount and dispersion of the carbide phase have less effect. The hardness increases as a result of an increase in the hardening temperature and a decrease in the tempering temperature, which reduce the amount of the carbide phase, but increase the alloying of the solid solution. The hardness of the nitrided layer of high-speed steels P9, P18, having the same composition of the solid solution, is the same (HV 1,340) even despite the significant difference in the amount of the carbide phase. The hardness of the layer of steel 4Х5В2ФС (4Kh5V2FS), which contains more chromium in the solution, is HV 50–90 higher than the hardness of the layer on the steel 3Х2В8Ф (3Kh2V8F), which has 1.5–2 times more of the carbide phase. The behavior of steels with the same high chromium content (12 %), but different carbon content is characteristic. The hardness of the layer in steel 1Х13 (1Kh13), which has few carbides, is HV 100–180 higher than the hardness of the layer in steel Х12М (Kh12M), in which a significant portion of chromium is bound into carbides.

MODELING AT ION NITRIDING

The paper analyzes the processes occurring in the saturating medium and the processed material, which makes it possible to explain the reasons for the high growth rate of phases during ion nitriding. It is shown that the kinetic coefficient is the link between the technological parameters and the output results of the process. An algorithm for calculating the output parameters of the ion nitriding process is proposed, which, taking into account the principles of similarity and identification, can be used for any steels and alloys.