This article deals with the testing of surface layers produced on technical titanium Ti99.2 under glow discharge conditions. In order to determine the effect of process temperature on the produced surface layers, nitriding processes were carried out at 700°C and 800°C and for 3 and 5 hours. The research results on evaluating the properties of the obtained surface layers and the characterization of their morphology were presented. The impact of the adopted nitriding process variant on the quality of the obtained layers was evaluated. It was demonstrated that the use of the supplementary potential during the ion nitriding process reduces the unwanted edge effect, which results in a significant increase in the homogeneity of the nitrided layers and improves the functional properties of the technical titanium Ti99.2.
The subject of the study concerns the enhancement of corrosion and wear resistance of nitrided 42CrMo4 steel by the formation of zinc phosphate top layer. The present work is aimed at the assessment of the effect of increasing thickness of nitrided layer from approximately 2 µm to 16 µm on the morphology and properties of zinc phosphate coating. XRD analysis showed that along with the increase in the thickness of the nitrides layer, a change in the phase composition was observed. SEM/EDS examination revealed that top layer consists of crystalline zinc phosphate coating. The shape and size of crystals does not significantly depend on a thickness of nitrides layer but corrosion resistance determined by potentiodynamic method in 0.5M NaCl increased with an increase of thickness of a “white layer”. Similarily the wear resistance determined by the 3-cone-roll test was also the highest for 16 µm nitride layer.
Biocompatible coatings produced on the basis of the chemically extracted natural hydroxyapatite (HAp) from the animal bones were deposited using multiplex method comprising glow discharge nitriding (GDN) of the titanium alloy substrate and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of HAp on the formerly fabricated titanium nitride layer (TiN). The TiN interlayer plays an important role improving adhesion of HAp to substrate and preserves the direct contact of the tissue with metallic substrate in the case of possible cracking of HAp coating. Surface morphology of deposited layers, crystallographic texture and residual stress were studied in relation to the type of laser applied to ablation (Nd:YAG or ArF excimer), laser repetition, temperature of substrate and atmosphere in the reactive chamber.
Group of steel balls with different chemical composition, diameters and nitriding treatment parameters were investigated with using magnetic resonance and magnetization methods. Emerging nitrided regions consists of diffusion and surface layer of iron nitrides. The thickness of the individual layers depends on the type of steel and process parameters. Resonance signal shape and position were successfully described in the ferromagnetic resonance regime expected for dense iron magnetic system. Influence of the sample size, thermal treatment and carbon content on the absorption signal has been analyzed. Significant magnetic anisotropy has been revealed, as well as non-usual increasing of the magnetization as a function of temperature. It suggests, that overall antiferromagnetic ordering, destroyed by thermal movement, lead to increasing of the ferromagnetic region.
Nitrogen-doped DLC (diamond-like carbon) coatings were produced on 316L nitrided austenitic steel in direct current and pulsed glow discharge conditions. The chemical composition, surface topography, hardness and corrosion resistance of the obtained carbon coatings were examined. The coatings varied in surface morphology, roughness and hardness. Direct current glow discharge made it possible to produce a coating characterized by lower hardness, greater thickness and higher nitrogen content. The coating featured improved corrosion resistance and adhesion compared to coatings produced in the pulsed process.
Rising technical standards of customers, legal requirements and the trend to minimize maintenance effort raise the thermal, mechanical and tribological loads on components of combustion engines. In this regard, emphasis is laid on improving the piston ring - cylinder liner tribosystem, one with the highest energy losses. An efficient performance has to be guaranteed during its lifetime. Tribological investigations could be carried out on engine test benches, but they are highly cost-intensive and time-consuming. Therefore, a damage-equivalent test methodology was developed with the analogous tribological model, "ring-on-liner". The research was carried out under two characteristic operating conditions. One with a "standard" operating system, modelled in line with ideal lubrication conditions, and the other "extreme abrasive" operating system, typical to a system running on a lubricant contaminated by abrasive particles. To optimize the tribological loading capacity of the cylinder liner, with focus on these two operating conditions, numerous nitride coatings have been investigated. The key aspects being seizure resistance, running-in characteristics and long term wear behaviour.
The oral cavity due to its temperature fluctuations, changing pH, high humidity, action of mechanical forces and the presence of microorganisms is a favorable environment for degradation of dental materials. The paper presents comparative results on orthodontic arch-wires AISI304 steel before and after low temperature plasma nitriding carried out at cathodic potential (conventional) and at plasma potential, i.e. in a process incorporating an active screen. Corrosion resistance test on nitrided layers produced on stainless steel were carried out via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the potentiodynamic method in non-deaerated artificial saliva solution at 37°C. The results were complemented with analysis of the structure, surface topography and microhardness. The results showed an increase in corrosion resistance of AISI304 steel after conventional glow-discharge nitriding.
Deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) is gaining popularity as a treatment used to modify structures obtained during heat or thermo-chemical treatment. The article presents the influence of DCT, carried out during heat treatment before and after gas nitriding processes, on the formation of gas nitrided layers on X153CrMoV12 steel. It was found that the use of DCT between quenching and tempering performed prior to gas nitriding processes, increases the hardness, thickness and wear resistance of the nitrided layers. At the same time, if we apply cryogenic treatment during post-heat treatment of nitrided layers, we also get very high wear resistance and increased thickness of nitrided layers, in comparison with conventional gas nitriding of X153CrMoV12 steel. In this case, DCT significantly increases also the hardness of the core by the transformation of retained austenite and the precipitation of fine carbides of alloying elements.