Evaluation of Properties of Glow Discharge Plasma Nitrided C-300 Maraging Steel

In this study, Glow Discharge Plasma Nitriding (GD_PN) of C-300 maraging steel is conducted at 425 degrees C to 500 degrees C for 4 h using H-2 and N-2 in a ratio of 4:1. The GD_PN treated surface is characterized by XRD and SEM and assessed for micro-hardness, tensile strength, corrosion as well as wear resistance. The micro-hardness measurements show an improvement in the hardness of the samples' surface by an approximate factor of 3.2. In the context of the case depth, it varies from 11.53 mu m for 425 degrees C to 92.58 mu m for 500 degrees C. The wear test results show improvement in wear resistance by a factor of 23.46 for treatment at 490 degrees C compared to the untreated sample. The tensile tests indicate that the ultimate tensile strength increases by a factor of 2.23 for treatment at 490 degrees C in comparison with the untreated sample. The XRD results depict that the plasma nitrided layer is incorporated with gamma '-Fe4N as well as epsilon-Fe2-3N phase. Finally, best corrosion resistance is observed for maraging steel sample treated at 490 degrees C.

Automated summary

The research showed that Glow Discharge Plasma Nitriding treatment significantly improved the hardness, wear resistance, and tensile strength of C-300 maraging steel. The case depth increased with treatment temperature, with the best corrosion resistance observed at 490 degrees C.