Tribological and thermal properties of plasma nitrided Ti45Nb alloy

Abstract

In this study, the effects of plasma nitriding surface treatment on the structural, tribological and thermal properties of Ti45Nb Beta alloy were investigated experimentally. Plasma nitriding process of Ti45Nb alloy was performed in 25% Ar-75% N2 gas mixture, for treatment times of 1–4 hours at the temperatures of 700–750 °C. The tribological tests of the plasma nitrided alloy were performed in dry sliding conditions. Thermal property measurements were applied to the plasma nitrided samples to determine their thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity. The TiNbN2 phase was observed in the compound layer formed after the nitriding process, and the compound layer and diffusion layer thicknesses increased depending on the nitriding temperature and duration. The highest microhardness was obtained for the sample nitrided at 750 °C for 4 hours and the hardness approximately twice increased compared to the untreated alloy. Due to its high surface hardness and nitride layer with sufficient thickness, the lowest wear rate was obtained for the nitrided sample under these conditions. As a result, the most effective parameter on the wear properties of Ti45Nb alloy after nitriding was determined as the process temperature. After the plasma nitriding process, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusion and specific heat capacity values decreased due to the formation of a nitride layer on the surface with a relatively lower thermal conductivity compared to the untreated alloy.