Surface hardening of steels by alloying with laser heating and subsequent chemical heat treatment

Abstract

The necessity of providing a high set of operating properties has stimulated the development of combined technologies of surface hardening. A combination of laser alloying of low-carbon steels by nitride-forming elements (V, Cr, Mo, Al) with subsequent chemical heat treatment seems promising in this respect. Such a combined treatment provides a favorable distribution of residual stresses, elevates considerably the microhardness of the strengthened layers, and increases the wear resistance by a factor of 1.5–3 compared to nitrided nitralloys like steel 38Kh2MYuA.