Abstract
The frictional behavior of oxide films on top of the plasma nitrocarburized compound layers was investigated in terms of post-oxidation treatment temperatures. The post-oxidation treatment at both temperatures($400^{\circ}C,\;500^{\circ}C$) produced magnetite($Fe_3O_4$) films which led to a significant enhancement in corrosion resistance. However, this process did not result in any improvement in frictional behavior of the nitrocarburized surface. The wear mechanisms were governed predominantly by the abrasive action of the slider on the surface irrespective of the counterface material(SiC and Bearing steel). When the specimen was sliding against a SiC counterface, the oxide films were destroyed during the early stage of the sliding process and the wear debris of the oxide film at the sliding track had a great influence on the friction coefficient. On the other hand, when sliding against a bearing steel counterface, the slider was mainly worn out due to the much higher hardness of the surface hardened layer. The fluctuation of the friction coefficient of $400^{\circ}C$-oxidized/ nitrocarburized specimen is much severer than that of $500^{\circ}C$ specimen, due to the less amount of wear debris.
