• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.52
• /
• pp.10.1-10.15
• /
• 2022

The effect of carbon doping contents on the microstructure, hardness, and corrosion properties of heat-treated AISI steel grades of plain carbon steel was investigated in this study. Various microstructures including coarse ferrite-pearlite, fine ferrite-pearlite, martensite, and bainite were developed by different heat treatments i.e. annealing, normalizing, quenching, and austempering, respectively. The developed microstructures, micro-hardness, and corrosion properties were investigated by a light optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, electromechanical (Vickers Hardness tester), and electrochemical (Gamry Potentiostat) equipment, respectively. The highest corrosion rates were observed in bainitic microstructures (2.68-12.12 mpy), whereas the lowest were found in the fine ferritic-pearlitic microstructures (1.57-6.36 mpy). A direct correlation has been observed between carbon concentration and corrosion rate, i.e. carbon content resulted in an increase in corrosion rate (2.37 mpy for AISI 1020 to 9.67 mpy for AISI 1050 in annealed condition).

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.22-26
• /
• 2012

An influence of the addition of copper (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mass% Cu) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high purity iron (99.998 mass%) was characterized. The microstructure and microhardness of high-purity iron based samples, which were rolled at room temperature and subsequently annealed, were investigated in this work. The microstructure of the samples has been observed by electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) and the mechanical properties have been studied by using micro-Vickers hardness test. The results of microstructural observation showed that deformation band was formed in high purity iron by rolling at room temperature, and it was recovered by annealing up to about 900 K. The microhardness results showed that the softening of high-purity iron occurred by annealing up to about 900 K, while the hardness of iron added with about 0.5-1.5 mass% copper was kept over 100 Hv and at the early time of annealing reached a maximum. The hardness of iron added with a small amount of copper may be attributed to precipitation hardening as well as solution hardening. The orientation of crystal in recrystallized grain was almost same as that of deformed grain.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.449-455
• /
• 2011

In this study, p-type $(AgSbTe_2)_{15}(GeTe)_{85}$: TAGS-85 compound powders were prepared by gas atomization process, and then their microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated. The fabricated powders were of spherical shape, had clean surface, and illustrated fine microstructure and homogeneous $AgSbTe_2$ + GeTe solid solution. Powder X-ray diffraction results revealed that the crystal structure of the TAGS-85 sample was single rhombohedral GeTe phase, which with a space group $R_{3m}$. The grain size of the powder particles increased while the micro Vickers hardness decreased with increasing annealing temperature within the range of 573 K and 723 K due to grain growth and loss of Te. In addition, the crystal structure of the powder went through a phase transformation from rhombohedral ($R_{3m}$) at low-temperature to cubic ($F_{m-3m}$) at high-temperature with increasing annealing temperature. The micro Vickers hardness of the as-atomized powder was around 165 Hv, while it decreased gradually to 130 Hv after annealing at 673K, which is still higher than most other fabrication processes.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.390-401
• /
• 2008

The objective of this study is to evaluate various machining characteristics of AlN-hBN machinable ceramics in micro end-milling process for its further application. First, AlN based machinable ceramics with hBN contents in the range of 10 to 20vol% were prepared by hot-pressing. Material properties of the composites, such as relative density, Vickers hardness, flexural strength, Young's modulus and fracture toughness were measured and compared. Then, micro end-milling experiments were performed to fabricate micro channels using prepared system. During the process, cutting forces, vibrations and AE signals were measured and analyzed using applied sensor system. Machined micro channel shapes and surface roughness were measured using 3D non-contact type surface profiler. From the experimental results, it can be observed that the cutting forces, vibrations and AE signal amplitudes decreased with increasing hBN contents. Also, measured surface roughness and profiles were improved with increasing hBN contents. As a result of this study, optimum machining conditions can be determined to fabricate desired products with AlN-hBN machinable ceramics based on the experimental results of this research.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.57-62
• /
• 2009

Purpose: TiN films were deposited on sus304 by unbalanced magnetron sputtering system which was designed and developed as unbalancing the strength of the magnets in the magnetron electrode. The color and hardness of deposited TiN films was investigated. Methods: The cross sections of deposited films on silicon wafer were observed by SEM to measure the thickness of the films, the components of the surface of the films were identified by XPS, the components of the inner parts of the films were observed by XPS depth profiling. XPS high resolution scans and curve fittings of deposited films were performed for quantitative chemical analysis, Vickers micro hardness measurements of deposited films were performed with a nano indenter equipment. Results: The colors of deposited films gradually changed from light gold to dark gold, light violet, and indigo color with increasing of the thickness. It could be seen that the color change come from the composite change of three compound,$TiO_{x}N_{y}$, $TiO_2$, TiN. Especially, the composite change of$TiO_{x}N_{y}$ compound was thought to affect the color change with respect to thickness. Conclusions: Deposited films had lower than the value of general TiN film in Vickers hardness, which was caused by mixing three TiN, $TiO_2$,$TiO_{x}N_{y}$ compound in the deposited films. The increasing and decreasing of micro hardness with respect to thickness was thought to have something to do with the composite of TiN in the films.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.86-90
• /
• 2010

In this study, we conducted heat treatment on 14K, 18K yellow gold alloy at various temperature conditions for improving their hardness and moderating their surface defects. Also after the heat treatment we used EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analyzer), XRF (x-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy) for qualitative analysis and OM (optical microscope), SEM (scanning electron microscope) to investigate the changes of surface grain boundary. We used Vickers hardness tester to verify the changes of hardness. After the heat treatment, 14K, 18K gold alloys showed improved hardness and moderated surface defects at specific temperatures and duration.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.33 no.7
• /
• pp.309-314
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to address the limitations of traditional plasma nitriding methods by implementing a short-term plasma oxy-nitriding treatment on the surface of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel. This treatment involved the sequential formation of nitride and oxide layers, to enhance surface hardness and corrosion resistance, respectively. The process resulted in the formation of a 20 ㎛-thick nitride layer and a 3 ㎛-thick oxide layer on the steel surface. Initially, the hardness increased by 2.2 times after nitriding, followed by a subsequent decrease of approximately 31 % after oxidation. While the nitriding process reduced corrosion resistance, the subsequent oxidation process led to the formation of a passive oxide film, effectively resolving this issue. The pitting corrosion of the oxide passive film started at 82.6 mVssc, providing better corrosion resistance characteristics than the nitride layer. Consequently, the trade-off between surface hardness and corrosion resistance in plasma oxy-nitrided AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel is anticipated to be recognized as an innovative and comprehensive surface treatment process for biomedical components.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.401-412
• /
• 1998

The aim of this study was to measure the regional micro-shear bond strength of dentin bonding agents to dentin, and to investigate the relationship between the micro-shear bond strength and two dentinal characteristics ; Vickers hardness and remaining dentin thickness. Twenty-four freshly extracted, noncarious human molars were selected for this study. The materials tested in this study consisted of two commercially available dentin bonding agents (MAC-BOND, ONE-STEP) and two restorative light-cured composite resins (AELITEFIL, Z100). The occlusal or side surface of tooth crown was sectioned to expose dentin, and the exposed surface was finally polished with # 600 sandpaper. Four groups of application methods were used combining the filling materials and the dentin bonding agents. The composite resin-attached tooth specimens were embeded in a cold cure acrylic resin, and were cut with a low speed diamond saw to the dimension of 1mm $\times$ 1mm. Nine specimens were obtained from each tooth. The cut specimens were divided into three groups depending on the position of the dentin bonding surface. The micro-shear bond strength, remaining dentin thickness, and dentinal hardness were measured. Experimental results were then statistically analyzed with ANOVA. t-test, Scheffe test, and regression analysis. From this experiment, the following results were obtained : 1. In the case of occlusal surface bonding, the pooled micro-shear bond strength of ONST-AELIT group (16.62 MPa) was significantly higher than that of MACB-AELIT group (9.91 MPa) (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the micro-shear bond strength depending on the dentin position (p>0.05). 2. In the case of side surface bonding of crown, the pooled micro-shear bond strength of four different bonding groups was not significantly different among each other (p>0.05). However, in three of the test groups (ONST-AELIT, MACB-Z100, ONST-Z100), the micro-shear bond strength to the lower 1/3(III) position was significantly lower than that to middle 1/3(II) position of surface (p<0.05). 3. In the ONST-AELIT bonding group, the pooled micro-shear bond strength to the occlusal surface was significantly lower than that to the side surface of crown (p<0.05). 4. There was no significant correlation between the micro-shear bond strength and dentin hardness / remaining dentin thickness (p>0.05).

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.9-14
• /
• 1998

Diamond-like carbon(DLC) films were deposited on buffer-layered ZnS substrates by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(RF-PECVD) method. Ge and GeC buffer layera were used between DLC and ZnS substrates to promote the adhesion of DLC on ZnS substrates. Ge buffer layers were sputter deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and $GeC^1$ buffer layers were deposited by same method except using acetylene reactive gas. The relatinship between film properties and deposition conditions was investigated using gas pressure, RF power and dc bias voltage as PECVD parameters. The hardness of DLC films were measured by micro Vickers hardness test and the adhesion of DLC films on buffer-layered ZnS substrates were studied by Sebastian V stud pull tester. The optical properties of DLC films on butter-layered ZnS substrates were characterized by ellipsometer and FTIR spectroscopy.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.207-212
• /
• 2011

In this study, the change in diffusion coefficient and wear characteristic with depth in the carbonitriding layer of SCM415 steel was discussed. To determine the diffusion coefficient, depth profile of carbon was measured from the surface using the Glow Discharge Spectrometer. In otherwise, measurements of carbide fraction, micro vickers hardness of surface and observation of microstructure have been implemented through the SEM image. $Fe_3$(C,N) layer and effective depth were increased as the time for carbonitriding takes longer. According to wear experiment, the results showed that wear resistance was improved by $Fe_3$(C,N) layer and effective depth.