Faculty of Mechanical Engineering University of Zilina, Slovak Republic
Abstract
This paper introduces a novel multi-combined surface treatment consisting of the individual treatments of plasma nitriding (PN), physical vapour deposition (PVD) and electron beam hardening (EBH). Using graded surface layers produced by such a combined surface treatment, it is possible to withstand the complex load conditions incurred by components and tools. It is shown, that the treatment sequences PN+EBH+PVD and EBH+PN+PVD are suitable for improving material properties. These multi-combined surface treatments lead to a significant improvement in load-supporting capacity. Critical load values of cohesive failure measured by scratch tests are tripled when compared to the individual treatment of PVD, and increased by at least 20% in comparison to the duplex treatments of EBH+PVD or PN+PVD. The metallurgical compatibility of the single treatments is essential for the success of combined treatments. Material-specific limitations are defined, which exclude failure due to crack initiation, the occurrence of retained austenite, and tempering effects. Based on the model wear-test assembly block-on-cylinder, it was proved, that the specific wear rate of multi-combined treated specimens is reduced about 20-50% while wear of counterpart components is decreased as well. The triplex surface heat treatment introduced opens up new prospects for highly-loaded components and tools
