Plasma Nitriding of 722M24 Steel with Pure Lanthanum, Cerium and Neodymium as Sputter Sources

A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of pure rare earth addition on the plasma nitriding response of low alloy steel. For this purpose, pure rare earth metals (La, Ce and Nd) were put into the plasma nitriding furnace as sputter sources during nitriding of 722M24 steel. a variety of experimental and analytical techniques were employed to evaluate the structures and hardening response of the nitrided lavers which included metallography for structural examination, glow discharge spectrometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry for chemical composition profile analysis, X-ray diffraction for phase identification and microhardness testing for hardness profile measurements. The results show that the incorporation of rare earth metals in the glow discharge. during plasma nitriding not only influences the discharge characteristics but also results in the deposition of rare earth atoms and their compounds onto the specimen surface. These significantly affect the response of the investigated steel to plasma nitriding. The extent of the influence on plasma nitriding varies with different rare earth metals.

Experimental and numerical study on plasma nitriding of AISI P20 mold steel

In this study, plasma nitriding was used to fabricate a hard protective layer on AISI P20 steel, at three process temperatures（450℃, 500℃, and 550℃） and over a range of time periods（2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 h）, and at a fixed gas N2：H2 ratio of 75vol%：25vol%. The morphology of samples was studied using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the formed phase of each sample was determined by X-ray diffraction. The elemental depth profile was measured by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy, and glow dispersive spectroscopy. The hardness profile of the samples was identified, and the microhardness profile from the surface to the sample center was recorded. The results show that ε-nitride is the dominant species after carrying out plasma nitriding in all strategies and that the plasma nitriding process improves the hardness up to more than three times. It is found that as the time and temperature of the process increase, the hardness and hardness depth of the diffusion zone considerably increase. Furthermore, artificial neural networks were used to predict the effects of operational parameters on the mechanical properties of plastic mold steel. The plasma temperature, running time of imposition, and target distance to the sample surface were all used as network inputs; Vickers hardness measurements were given as the output of the model. The model accurately reproduced the experimental outcomes under different operational conditions; therefore, it can be used in the effective simulation of the plasma nitriding process in AISI P20 steel.

Study on a new type nitriding steel microalloyed with niobium

A niobium microalloyed nitriding steel has been introduced to meet the high demand in modern engine applications,based on compositions of traditional nitriding steels,and on phase calculation and prediction with JmatPro software.The new nitriding steel BTHJ-1 shows a better nitriding tendency,as well as a good combination of strength and toughness,while compared with 38CrMoAl and H13 steels.BTHJ-1 steel also shows a better thermal stability when being held at 620℃.Investigations with OM,TEM,XRD have been made so as to get a better understand on the characteristics of BTHJ-1 steel.The quantities optimization of alloy elements and the grain refinement of niobium seem to be reasons for the improved properties of the nitriding steel.

Precipitation behavior of titanium nitride on a primary inclusion particle during solidification of bearing steel

Titanium nitride precipitation on a primary inclusion particle during solidification of bearing steel has been tracked by varying temperature in a confocal scanning violet laser microscope.Upon precipitation,an obvious growth of titanium nitride on a primary inclusion particle was observed due to the rapid solute diffusion in liquid steel.The onset of titanium nitride precipitation did not change with primary inclusion particle size,but the time of growth was greater for a smaller primary inclusion particle.Meanwhile,the particle size displayed little influence on the total precipitated amount of titanium nitride on it under the same conditions.At the later period of solidification,almost no change occurred in inclusion size,but the inclusion shape varied from circle to almost square in two-dimension,or cubic in three-dimension,to attain the equilibrium with steel.

Characterizing microstructure and texture after recrystallization annealing of Hi-B steel with simutaneous decarburization and nitriding

How to manufacture the high magnetic induction grain-oriented silicon steel（Hi-B steel）by the process featured with the primary recrystallization annealing was demonstrated,during which nitriding and decarburizing were simultaneously realized in laboratory.By the techniques of optical microscope,scanning electronic microscope and electron backscattered diffraction,both the microstructure and the texture in the samples were characterized.The samples had been subjected to nitriding to different nitrogen contents at two specified temperatures using the two defined microstructural parameters：the grain size inhomogeneity factorσ＊and the texture factor AR.The former is the ratio of the mean value to standard deviation of grain sizes;the latter is the ratio of the total volume fraction of the harmful textures to that of beneficial textures including {110}〈001〉.When the N content increased from 0.0055%to 0.0330%after the annealing at both 835 and 875°C,the resultant recrystallized grain size decreased butσ＊changed little;whilst the rise of annealing temperature from 835 to 875°C resulted in the increase in both grain size andσ＊.Moreover,either the injected N content or temperature had insignificant influence on the components of primary recrystallization texture developed during annealing.However,the increase of temperature led to the decreases in both intensity and volume fraction of{001}〈120〉and{110}〈001〉textures but increases in the{114}〈481〉andγfiber textures and the resultant decrease of AR.

σ-Phase in Lean Duplex Stainless Steel Sheets

The precipitation kinetics of secondary phases in two austeno-ferritic lean duplex stainless steels（lean DSS）were examined after aging the materials at 800 ℃.Owing to the instability of ferrite,all DSS are known to be sensitive to solid-state phase transformations in the critical temperature range 600-1,000 ℃ and different secondary phases may form,depending on composition and microstructure.The performed thermodynamic simulations revealed the proneness to the precipitation of such phases also have been done in lean DSS,but only information on the equilibrium microstructures were achieved.Therefore,the materials were aged at various times,in order to verify the simulations and determine the precipitation kinetics.The occurred structural modifications were observed and quantified by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements,determining phase type,composition and volumetric fraction.At 800 ℃,grade 2101 was found to be only affected by Cr_2N nitrides precipitation,whereas a significant amount of σ-phase was found to form in LDX 2404 for treatment longer than 1 h,almost totally replacing ferrite after 50 h.Up to now,the intermetallic σ-phase has been observed only in the high alloyed DSS,and the unexpected precipitation in grade 2404 highlighted that the increased content of molybdenum in this steel might be considered as determinant for the formation.