Low-temperature ion nitriding of VT6 titanium alloy with UFG structure

Abstract

Abstract This work describes the effect of low-temperature ion nitriding on the mechanical and operational properties of the titanium alloy VT6 with the ultrafine-grained structure. Ion nitriding of the alloy was carried out at T=450-600 °C and p=300 Pa in a gas mixture of argon and nitrogen during 6 hours. Low-temperature nitriding at the temperature ≥550 °C leads to a decrease in the microhardness of the material base. The optimum processing temperatures are 450-500 °C. The formation of the UFG structure and subsequent nitriding increases wear resistance by 28%.