Abstract
Several process variants of plasma nitriding can be distinguished depending on the location of the voltage introduction. The aim of this study is to compare three different variants of plasma nitriding (DC plasma nitriding, active screen plasma nitriding, and active screening process with bias voltage application) extended by the study of the coverage of active screen on C45E unalloyed steel, using two different N2-H2 gas mixtures. The thickness of the compound layer was measured using a scanning electron microscope, the phase analysis was performed by an x-ray diffractometer, and the nitrogen contents were analyzed by glow discharge optical electron spectroscopy. The results showed that the layer thickness and the surface hardness were higher by using active screen-biased plasma nitriding with high N2 content gas mixture. Besides, the lid of the active screen did not influence significantly the chemical composition of the compound layer.
Highlights
Plasma nitriding is a thermochemical surface treatment process to create a hard, wear-resistant layer on steel surfaces (Ref 1-4)
The samples were nitrided by direct current plasma nitriding (DCPN) show discoloration caused by the edge effect, which to a lesser extent was appeared at the application of bias too
The application of active screen caused an evener layer thickness compared to other nitriding processes
Summary
Plasma nitriding is a thermochemical surface treatment process to create a hard, wear-resistant layer on steel surfaces (Ref 1-4). The conventional, direct current plasma nitriding (DCPN) (Ref 5, 6) is more than 60 years old (Ref 7). Today, it is widely used in many areas of the industry for example in automotive industries, machine tool manufacturing, etc. In the DCPN treatment, plasma is generated directly on the workpiece leading to various problems: [1] edge effect (Ref 8, 9) and [2] hollow cathode effect (Ref 10, 11). In addition to the edge effect, hollow cathode effect can occur in adjacent parts and holes with small diameters which lead to local overheating (Ref 14, 15) and may cause changes in the microstructure and in the mechanical properties
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