Effect of Ion Nitriding on Properties of High Carbon Chromium Bearing Steel Containing Rare Earth Elements

In this work, the effect of ion nitriding on the properties of high carbon chromium bearing steel containing rare earth (RE) elements was studied by micro-Vickers hardness, tensile test, and Charpy impact measurement. The original microstructure of the bearing steel was analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction measurement and x-ray diffraction analysis. The results implied that ion nitriding enhanced the hardness and strength of the bearing steel containing RE elements but decreased its impact toughness. The nitrided layer composed of Fe3N and Fe4N exhibited brittle cleavage fracture characteristics during the fracture process.

Automated summary

The effect of ion nitriding on the properties of high carbon chromium bearing steel containing rare earth elements was investigated using micro-Vickers hardness, tensile test, and Charpy impact measurement. The original microstructure of the steel was analyzed using electron backscatter diffraction and x-ray diffraction. The results showed that ion nitriding increased the hardness and strength of the steel but decreased its impact toughness. The nitrided layer consisted of Fe3N and Fe4N and exhibited brittle cleavage fracture characteristics during fracturing process.