Synergetic effects of micro-shot peening and gas nitriding on the fatigue performance of AISI 4140 steel

Abstract

Gas-nitriding was performed to enhance the surface hardness and fatigue performance of 4140 steel pre-treated with micro-shot peening (MSP). The 4140 steel was solutionized and tempered at 200 °C/1 h, named as the base metal (BM) with the hardness of 500 HV0.05. Some BM samples were subjected to MSP (i.e., SPBM), and subsequently gas-nitrided at 520 °C/6 h (i.e., NBM). A compound layer of about 10 μm thickness formed on the surface of the NBM sample consisted of nano-grained Fe3N and Fe4N. The NBM sample showed a decline in hardness from the nitrided surface (750 HV0.05) to the matrix (300 HV0.05). In the as-peened condition, the peak residual compressive stress (RCS) was close to −500 MPa, and a very shallow stress field was obtained. After gas-nitriding, the peak RCS decreased to less than −400 MPa, while the affected depth expended to 300 μm. Defects in the compound layer did not deteriorate the fatigue strength/life of the nitrided 4140 steel. The RCS field effectively suppressed fatigue crack initiation and propagation at the surface of the NBM and SPBM samples. By contrast, surface cracks resulted in the fatigue failure of the BM sample.