Development of new duplex treatments on 100Cr6steel combining Thermochemical Treatments, Laser Shock Peening and Physical Vapour Deposition

Abstract

100Cr6 steel (AISI 52100) is one of the most used steel grades in the manufacturing of through hardening bearings mainly due to its properties: controlled impurities during steel making process, high hardenability and well known mechanical properties such as wear and fatigue resistance on clean environments. These characteristics play an important role on the performance of a bearing together with the bearing design, loads and environment. However, there is an increasing set of demanding applications where the above mentioned steel does not fulfil the required needs and thus, bearing manufacturers continuously work on the development of technologies to improve the bearing performance.Nowadays thermochemical treatments (TCT), such as carbonitriding are being applied to this steel in order to enhance the performance of such pieces in contaminated environment, where particles can produce defects on the raceway, increasing the onset of defects that eventually lead to premature fail. These treatments induce the formation of carbides and nitrides which are directly related to the enhancement of the wear resistance and also to increasing the amount of Retained Austenite (RA) in the surface which may have a beneficial effect as it delays the crack propagation on subsurface regions, then increasing bearing fatigue life.In this work, different TCTs have been applied to 100Cr6 steel flat samples. Using a tribometer (ball-on-disc configuration) and a grinding machine, surface and in-depth wear resistance measurements have been carried out, obtaining wear resistance profiles that have been correlated with the microstructure, microhardness profiles and RA content.The most promising TCT has been combined either with Laser Shock Peening (LSP) treatments or carbonaceous Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coatings with the aim of improving not only the wear resistance but also the CoF of the duplex treated sample.The results obtained on flat samples are promising; the combination of treatments produces long-lasting low CoF and a reduction of 60% in the wear rate. However, the treatments should be applied on real pieces and tested in a test bench in order to obtain more appropriate data about the lifespan of duplex treated bearings.