<p>The aim of this study is to enhance the wear performance of nitrided austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 by plasma post-oxidation at various temperatures and times. The surface hardness of untreated steel (186 HV<sub>0.01</sub>) is upgraded to 1200 HV<sub>0.01</sub> by plasma nitriding; this is reduced to 870-920 HV<sub>0.01</sub> by plasma post-oxidation treatment. On nitrided steel, an expanded austenite (nitrogen supersaturated) phase is obtained, while in the post-oxidized samples, the magnetite phase (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) is attained without the appearance of a hematite phase (Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>). The appearance of the magnetite phase is more beneficial in minimizing the friction coefficient and thus improving the sliding wear performance. Through plasma nitriding, a nitrided layer with a thickness of 4.7&#xa0;μm is formed, while the thickness further increases to 6.9-12.7&#xa0;μm by post-oxidation, and an oxidized layer with a maximum thickness of 1.12&#xa0;μm is attained at 440&#xa0;°C and 60 minutes. The wear volume dramatically decreases by 98% (0.21-0.003 mm<sup>3</sup>) when plasma nitriding and post-oxidation are combined, while the friction coefficient is reduced by 33% (untreated friction coefficient from 0.93 to 0.62 for the duplex-treated sample). The results reveal that the post-oxidation layer acts as a protective layer, enhancing wear resistance and decreasing the friction coefficient by forming the sole magnetite phase. This combination of treatments, i.e., plasma nitriding and post-oxidation, is applied in the same system (only gases are changed). Thus, no additional equipment is involved, except for a small increase in the amount of time for oxidation treatment. In addition, the plasma processing system is well-suited for industrial-scale applications, and thus, it can be applied to the large-scale processing of steel.</p>

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Improved Wear Performance of Nitrided AISI-304 Steel by Plasma Post-oxidation at Various Conditions

  • M. Naeem,
  • J. C. Díaz-Guillén,
  • Iqra Arshad,
  • Javed Iqbal,
  • R. Muñoz-Arroyo,
  • S. Mancillas-Salas,
  • M. Álvarez-Vera,
  • R. R. M. Sousa

摘要

The aim of this study is to enhance the wear performance of nitrided austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 by plasma post-oxidation at various temperatures and times. The surface hardness of untreated steel (186 HV0.01) is upgraded to 1200 HV0.01 by plasma nitriding; this is reduced to 870-920 HV0.01 by plasma post-oxidation treatment. On nitrided steel, an expanded austenite (nitrogen supersaturated) phase is obtained, while in the post-oxidized samples, the magnetite phase (Fe3O4) is attained without the appearance of a hematite phase (Fe2O3). The appearance of the magnetite phase is more beneficial in minimizing the friction coefficient and thus improving the sliding wear performance. Through plasma nitriding, a nitrided layer with a thickness of 4.7 μm is formed, while the thickness further increases to 6.9-12.7 μm by post-oxidation, and an oxidized layer with a maximum thickness of 1.12 μm is attained at 440 °C and 60 minutes. The wear volume dramatically decreases by 98% (0.21-0.003 mm3) when plasma nitriding and post-oxidation are combined, while the friction coefficient is reduced by 33% (untreated friction coefficient from 0.93 to 0.62 for the duplex-treated sample). The results reveal that the post-oxidation layer acts as a protective layer, enhancing wear resistance and decreasing the friction coefficient by forming the sole magnetite phase. This combination of treatments, i.e., plasma nitriding and post-oxidation, is applied in the same system (only gases are changed). Thus, no additional equipment is involved, except for a small increase in the amount of time for oxidation treatment. In addition, the plasma processing system is well-suited for industrial-scale applications, and thus, it can be applied to the large-scale processing of steel.