Direct Current and Pulsed Direct Current Plasma Nitriding of Ferrous Materials a Critical Review

Abstract

Nowadays, the improvement of ferrous materials performance is a problem of high interest. One of well-known wear-and corrosion properties improving technique is plasma nitriding, in which elemental nitrogen is introduced to the surface of a metal part for subsequent diffusion into the material. As a result, a compound, "white" layer and a diffusion zone are formed at the detail's surface. Most of the authors positively describe the effects of surface ion nitiding. On the other hand, there are also reports on adverse effects of direct current and pulsed direct current plasma nitriding on ferrous materials performance. Therefore, an attempt to provide comprehensive summary on direct current and pulsed direct current ion nitriding and its influence on ferrous materials' mechanical and corrosion properties has been made. According to the results, some of the technique drawbacks are hard to avoid in mass production.

The initial evaluation of performance of hard anti-wear coatings deposited on metallic substrates: thickness, mechanical properties and adhesion measurements – a brief review

“…In case of thermo-chemical treatments, e.g. nitriding or carburizing, a common method of determining the thickness of a modified layer is to measure the thickness of the hardened layer of the specimen -the case depth [8]. To investigate the effective layer thickness, a series of hardness measurements in a perpendicular direction to the coating is made on the cross section of the sample (Figure 3).…”

The Effect of TiN and DLC Anti-Wear Coatings on the Tribofilm Formation and Frictional Heat Phenomena in Coated Metals vs. WC-Co

“…The routinely applied surface modification methods include but are not limited to physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, thermochemical treatment, etc. [19][20][21][22]. Among applied coatings, titanium nitride (TiN) and diamond-like-carbon (DLC) are routinely used to improve tribological performance of metallic materials.…”

A Comparative Study of Friction and Wear Processes of Model Metallic Biomaterials Including Registration of Friction-Induced Temperature Response of a Tribological Pair

“…To improve the wear and corrosion performance of implant alloys, numerous coatings, e.g., titanium nitride (TiN) and diamond-like-carbon (DLC) [10], as well as the thermochemical treatments [11], are used. Nevertheless, it has been shown that in the long-term in vivo usage, the protective films can be worn out of the implant surface [12].…”