IMPROVED NITRIDING CAPABILITY OF NONALLOYED STEELS ASSISTED WITH ACTIVE SCREEN PLASMA TREATMENT

Abstract

The nonalloyed steels are very cost-effective, but their usefulness in numerous applications is imbedded due to low mechanical strength. The strength of several steels can be improved by nitriding; however, nonalloyed steels are not suitable. They can be nitrided by introducing special nitriding alloys (like chromium, aluminum, etc.) during manufacturing or some interlayer deposition, but it is quite expensive. The aim of this study is to improve nitriding capability of nonalloyed steels without any additional treatment. This is done by using alloyed stainless steel active screen in active screen plasma treatment, which provides an adequate amount of chromium to form stable and hard nitrides. The processed samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, pin-on-disc wear tester, hardness tester and potentiodynamic polarization test.