• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2011

Plasma nitriding of stainless steels has been investigated over a range of temperature from 400 to $500^{\circ}C$ and time from 10 to 20 hours. Characterization of systematic materials was carried out in terms of mechanical properties and corrosion behaviors. The results showed that plasma nitriding conducted at low temperatures not only increased the surface hardness, but also improved the corrosion resistance of STS 316L, STS409L, and STS 420J2. It was found that plasma-nitriding treatment at $500^{\circ}C$ resulted in increasing the corrosion performance of STS 409L and STS 420J2, while STS 316L was observed with server and massive damage on surface due to the formation of CrN.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.177-178
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• 2012

In this experiment, post-nitriding treatment has been performed at $400^{\circ}C$ on AISI 316 stainless steel which is plasma carburized previously at $430^{\circ}C$ for 15 hours. Plasma nitriding was implemented on AISI 316 stainless steel at various gas compositions (25% N2, 50% N2 and 75% N2) for 4 hours. Additionally, during post nitriding Ar gas was used with H2 and N2 to observe the improvement of treatment. After treatment, the behavior of the hybrid layer was investigated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and micro-hardness testing. Potentiodynamic polarization test was also used to evaluate the corrosion resistance of the samples. Meanwhile, it was found that the surface hardness increased with increasing the nitrogen gas content. Also small percentage of Ar gas was introduced in the post nitriding process which improved the hardness of the hardened layer but reduces the corrosion resistance compared with the carburized sample. The experiment revealed that AISI 316L stainless steel showed better hardness and excellent corrosion resistance compared with the carburized sample, when 75% N2 gas was used during the post nitriding treatment. Also addition of Ar gas during post nitriding treatment were degraded the corrosion resistance of the sample compared with the carburized sample.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.60-65
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• 2011

A low temperature plasma carburizing process was performed on AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel to achieve an enhancement of the surface hardness without degradation of its corrosion resistance. Attempts were made to investigate the influence of the processing temperatures on the surface hardened layer during low temperature plasma carburizing in order to obtain the optimum processing conditions. The expanded austenite (${\gamma}_c$) phase, which contains a high saturation of carbon (S phase), was formed on all of the treated surfaces. Precipitates of chromium carbides were detected in the hardened layer (C-enriched layer) only for the specimen treated at $550^{\circ}C$. The hardened layer thickness of ${\gamma}_c$ increased up to about $65{\mu}m$ with increasing treatment temperature. The surface hardness reached about 900 $HK_{0.05}$, which is about 4 times higher than that of the untreated sample (250 $HK_{0.05}$). A minor loss in corrosion resistance was observed for the specimens treated at temperatures of $300^{\circ}C{\sim}450^{\circ}C$ compared with untreated austenitic stainless steel. In particular, the precipitation of chromium carbides at $550^{\circ}C$ led to a significant decrease in the corrosion resistance. A diamond-like carbon (DLC) film coating was applied to improve the wear and friction properties of the S phase layer. The DLC film showed a low and stable friction coefficient value of about 0.1 compared with that of the carburized surface (about 0.45). The hardness and corrosion resistance of the S phase layer were further improved by the application of such a DLC film.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.293-299
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• 2015

In this study, nitrogen ions were implanted into STS 316L austenitic stainless steel by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to improve the corrosion resistance. The implantation of nitrogen ions was performed with bias voltages of -5, -10, -15, and -20 kV. The implantation time was 240 min and the implantation temperature was kept at room temperature. With nitrogen implantation, the corrosion resistance of 316 L improved in comparison with that of the bare steel. The effects of nitrogen ion implantation on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of the specimen were investigated by the potentiodynamic polarization test, which was conducted in a 0.5 M $H_2SO_4$ solution at $70^{\circ}C$. The phase evolution and texture caused by the nitrogen ion implantation were analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. It was demonstrated that the samples implanted at lower bias voltages, i.e., 5 kV and 10 kV, showed an expanded austenite phase, ${\gamma}_N$, and strong (111) texture morphology. Those samples exhibited a better corrosion resistance.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.629-634
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• 2009

The effects of processing parameters on the surface properties of the hardened layers processed by the low temperature plasma nitrocarburizing and the low temperature two-step plama treatment (carburizing+nitriding) were investigated. The nitrogen-enriched expanded austenite structure (${\gamma}_N$) or S phase was formed on all of the treated surface. The surface hardness reached up to 1200 $HV_{0.025}$, which is about 5 times higher than that of untreated sample (250 $HV_{0.1}$). The thickness of hardened layer of the low temperature plasma nitrocarburized layer treated at $400^{\circ}C$ for 40 hour was only $15{\mu}m$, while the layer thicknesss in the two-step plama treatment for the 30 hour treatment increased up to about $30{\mu}m$. The surface thickness and hardness increased with increasing treatment temperature and time. In addition, the corrosion resistance was enhanced than untreated samples due to a high concentration of N on the surface. However, higher treatment temperature and longer treatment time resulted in the formation of $Cr_2N$ precipitates, which causes the degradation of corrosion resistance.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.801-807
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• 2003

This work aims the search of environmentally friendly pre-treatment technologies to develop chromate replacements for metal finishing industries due to its toxicological properties. Since the corrosion resistance of steel was strongly related to water permeation, galvanized steel sheets were treated with various hydrophobic silane compounds and water-suspended polymer solution. Also, plasma gas discharge was applied to modify the surface of a polymer coated-steel sheet to be hydrophobic. The surface hydrophobicity of materials was introduced by CF$_3$H plasma exposure. The corrosion property before and after the plasma treatment was investigated in a slat spray tester with 3.5 wt.% NaCl at 35$^{\circ}C$. The results showed that both silane/polymer double coatings and plasma treatment of the galvanized steel exhibited significant retardation of corrosion.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4032-4038
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• 2023

Cu, which exhibits excellent corrosion resistance in underground environments, has been investigated as a canister material for use in the deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuels. In this study, the technical viability of atmospheric plasma spraying for producing Cu-coated canisters was investigated. A high-purity Cu film (millimeter scale) was deposited onto a stainless-steel substrate using a plasma gun with a shroud structure. Potentiodynamic polarization studies revealed that the Cu film exhibited a sufficiently low corrosion rate in the groundwater electrolyte. In addition, no pitting corrosion was observed on the Cu film surface after accelerated corrosion studies. A prototype cylindrical Cu film was fabricated on a 1/20 scale on a stainless-steel tube to demonstrate the scalability of atmospheric plasma spraying in producing Cu-coated canisters.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.681-686
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• 2006

Plasma nitrocarburising and plasma post oxidation were performed to improve the wear and corrosion resistance of S45C and SCM440 steel by a plasma ion nitriding system. Plasma nitrocarburizing was conducted for 3h at $570^{\circ}C$ in the nitrogen, hydrogen and methane atmosphere to produce the ${\varepsilon}-Fe_{2-3}$(N, C) phase. Plasma post oxidation was performed on the nitrocarburized samples with various oxygen/hydrogen ratio at constant temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. The very thin magnetite ($Fe_3O_4$) layer $1-2{\mu}m$ in thickness on top of the $15{\sim}25{\mu}m$ ${\varepsilon}-Fe_{2-3}$(N, C) compound layer was obtained by plasma post oxidation. A salt spray test and electrochemical testing revealed that in the tested 5% NaCl solution, the corrosion characteristics of the nitrocarburized compound layer could be further improved by the application of the superficial magnetite layer. Throttle valve shafts were treated under optimum plasma processing conditions. Accelerated life time test results, using throttle body assembled with shaft treated by plasma nitrocarburising and post oxidation, showed that plasma nitrocarburizing and plasma post oxidation processes could be a viable technology in the very near future which can replace $Cr^{6+}$ plating.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.365-370
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• 2021

In this research, we proceeded with research on plasma resistance of the cleaning process of APS(Atmospheric Plasma Spray)-Y₂O₃ coated parts used for semiconductor and display plasma process equipment. CF₄, O₂, and Ar mixed gas were used for the plasma environment, and respective alconox, surfactant, and piranha solution was used for the cleaning process. After APS-Y₂O₃ was exposed to CF₄ plasma, the surface changed from Y₂O₃ to YF₃ and a large amount of carbon was deposited. For this reason, the plasma corrosion resistance was lowered and contamination particles were generated. We performed a cleaning process to remove the defect-inducing surface YF₃ layer and carbon layer. Among three cleaning solutions, the piranha cleaning process had the highest detergency and the alconox cleaning process had the lowest detergency. Such results could be confirmed through the etching amount, morphology, composition, and accumulated contamination particle analysis results. Piranha cleaning process showed the highest detergency, but due to the very large thickness reduction, the base metal was exposed and a large number of contaminated particles were generated. In contrast, the surfactant cleaning process exhibit excellent properties in terms of surface detergency, etching amount, and accumulated contamination particle analysis.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.82-88
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• 2008

The diesel engine of the merchant ship has been aperated in severe environments more and more, because the temperature of the exhaust gas of a combustion chamber is getting higher and higher with increasing use of heavy oil of law quality, due to the significant increase in the price of oil in recent some years. As a result, the degree of wear and corrosion between exhaust valve and seat ring is more serious compared to other engine parts. Thus the repair welding of exhaust valve and seat ring is a unique method to prolong the life of the exhaust valve, from an economical point of view. In this study, the corrosion property of both weld metal and base metal was investigated using electrochemical methods such as measurement of corrosion potential, cathodic and anodic polarization curves, cyclic voltammogram, and polarization resistance in 5% H2SO4 solution. The test specimen was a part of an exhaust valve stem being welded as the base metal, using various welding methods. In all cases, the corrosion resistance as well as hardness of the weld metal zone was superior to the base metal. In particular, plasma welding showed relatively good properties for both corrosion resistance and hardness, compared to other welding methods. In the case of DC SMAW (Shielded metal arc welding), corrosion resistance of the weld metal zone was better than that of the base metal, although its hardness was almost same as the base metal.