The AISI 1020 steel structure evolution and properties under «elion» nitriding in low-pressure gas discharge plasma

Abstract

The nitriding technique for steel AISI 1020 with electron plasma component sample heating has beendeveloped. A nitriding regime for 500 μm thick hardened layer formation has been revealed. The steelsurface layer microhardness increasing with an increasing in the nitriding temperature is shown thatcorrelates with the relative content of the nitride phase. The maximum microhardness value in nitridingtemperature range from 450 to 600 °C was fixed at a temperature of 520 °C in the near-surfacelayer at a depth of ≈ 10 μm. The steel wear resistance was established as depending on the nitrogenatoms concentration in the crystal lattice of α-Fe. The micropores in the steel surface layer nitridedat 520 °C is shown to contributes the material wear increasing under dry friction conditions.