• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.324-328
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• 2001

CrN films were deposited onto STD61 steel substrates using an arc-ion plating apparatus, with and without ion-nitriding pretreatment, and their oxidation was studied between 700 and $900^{\circ}C$ for 40hr in air. The oxidation behavior was examined by thermogravimetric analyses, X-ray diffraction. EDS and SEM. The deposited CrN films consisted of CrN and $Cr_2$N phases. The CrN films increased the oxidation resistance of the substrate by forming a protective $Cr_2$$O_3$ layer. The ion-nitriding pretreatment has not affected the oxidation resistance of the CrN film.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.615-620
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• 1996

Chromium-Molybdenum steel was plasma-nitrided at 823 K for 10.8 ks in an atmosphere of 30% $N_2$-70% $H_2$ gas under 665 Pa without and with a subsidiary cathode of $MoS_2$ to compare ion-nitriding and plasma-sulfnitriding using subsidiary cathode. When the steel was ion-nitrided without $MoS_2$, iron nitride layer of 4$\mu\textrm{m}$ and nitrogen diffusion layer of 400mm were formed on the steel. A compound layer of 15$\mu\textrm{m}$ and nitrogen diffusion layer of 400$\mu\textrm{m}$ were formed on the surface of the steel plasma-sulfnitrided with subsidiary cathode of $MoS_2$. The compound layer consisted of FeS containing Mo and iron nitrides. The nitrides of $\varepsilon$-$Fe_2$, $_3N$ and $\gamma$-$Fe_4N$ formed under the FeS. The thicker compound layer was formed by plasma-sulfnitriding than ion-nitriding. In plasma-sulfnitriding, the surface hardness was about 730 Hv. The surface hardness of the steel plasma-sulfnitrided with $MoS_2$ was lower than that of ion-nitrided without $MoS_2$. This may be due to the soft FeS layer formed on the surface of the plasma-sulfnitrided steel.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.138-149
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• 1997

TiN and AlN are ceramic materials with extensive applications due to its excellent mechanical and chemical properties at elevated temperature. The purpose of this research is to develop the method for the synthesis of ternary nitride powder, titanium-aluminum-nitrogen system, which have an excellent property of both TiN and AlN. The ternary nitride such as $Ti_3AlN$, $Ti_2AlN$ and $Ti_3Al_2N_2$ can be synthesized by the interdiffusion nitriding method in Ar gas, however, the ternary nitride coexist with TiN, AlN, $Ti_3Al$ and ${\alpha}$-Ti. The ternary nitride are stable below $1400^{\circ}C$, but these are gradually decomposed into TiN, $Ti_3Al$ and AlN above $1400^{\circ}C$. The thermal oxidation characteristics of the Ti-Al-N compound synthesized by the interdiffusion nitriding method is superior to that of the TiN+AlN mixed powder, and the oxidation for both materials show the differential behaviors.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.268-275
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• 2006

In this study, effect of sputtering on the plasma-nitriding substrate and before PVD coating on the microstucture, microhardness, surface roughness and the adhesion strength of CrZrN thin films were investigated. Experimental results showed that this sputtering process not only removed surface compound layer which formed during a plasma nitriding process but also induced an alteration of the surface of plasma nitrided substrate in terms of microhardness distribution, surface roughness. This in turn affected the adhesion strength of PVD coatings. After sputtering, microhardness distribution showed general decrease and the surface roughness became increased slightly. The critical shear stress measured from the scratch test on the CrZrN coatings showed an approximately 1.4 times increase in the adhesion strength through the sputtering prior to the coating and this could be attributed to a complete removal of compound layer from the plasma nitrided surface and to an increase in the surface roughness after sputtering.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.115-119
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• 2002

This study was performed to improve mechanical properties of rotor and bushing materials. SACD and SKD11 steels as rotor and bushing materials were investigated. Gas nitriding and TiN coating were carried out on SACM and SKD11 steels. TiN coating was deposited on SKD11 steel by reactive sputtering process. This coated layer was picked off during the operation because of insufficient adhesion. Gas nitriding was carried out on SACM and SKD11 steels in an ammonia atmosphere at 51$0^{\circ}C$ for 72 hrs. These gas nitrided parts showed good mechanical properties. SKD11 steels were heat-treated to obtain optimum carbide size and distribution. As a results, the hardness increased.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.364-370
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• 2011

Currently, there are two main issues regarding the development of core technologies in the automotive industry: the development of environmentally friendly vehicles and securing a high level of safety in the event of an accident. As part of the efforts to address these issues, research into alternative materials and new car body manufacturing and assembly technologies is necessary, and this has been carried out mainly by the automotive industries. Large press molds for producing car body parts are made of cast iron. With the increase of automobile production and various changes of design, the press forming process of car body parts has become more difficult. In the case of large press molds, high hardness and abrasive resistance are needed. To overcome these problems, we attempted to develop a combined heat treatment process consisting of local laser heat treatment followed by plasma nitriding, and evaluated the characteristics of the proposed heat treatment method. From the results of the experiments, it has been shown that the maximum surface hardness is 864 Hv by the laser heat treatment, 953 Hv by the plasma nitriding, and 1,094 Hv by the combined heat treatment. It is anticipated that the suggested combined heat treatment can be used to evaluate the durability of press mold.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2006

In this study, effect of sputtering after plasma nitriding and before PVD coating on the microstucture, microhardness, surface roughness and the adhesion strength of CrN thin films were investigated. Experimental results showed that this sputtering process not only removed surface compound layer which formed during a plasma nitriding process but also induced an alteration of the surface of plasma nitrided substrate in terms of microhardness distribution and surface roughness, which in turn affected the adhesion strength of PVD coatings. After sputtering, microhardness distribution showed general decrease and the surface roughness became increased slightly. The critical shear stress measured from the scratch test on the CrN coatings showed an approximately twice increase in the binding strength through the sputtering prior to the coating and this could be attributed to a complete removal of compound layer from the plasma nitrided surface and to an increase in the surface roughness after sputtering.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.708-712
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• 2008

The influence of high temperature gas nitriding (HTGN) in STS347 and STS310S steels was experimentally investigated. The HTGN was carried out at $1,050^{\circ}C{\sim}1,150^{\circ}C$ for 10 hrs in a gaseous atmosphere containing $1kg/mm^2$ of nitrogen. After HTGN, fine precipitates of $Cr_2N$ and NbN appeared in austenite on the surface of STS 347, while nitrogen pearlite, which was layeredof $Cr_2N$ and austenite alternatively, appeared in austenite on the surface of STS 310S. The surface hardness of HTGN-treated, STS 347 and STS 310S specimens was 250~360 Hv and 270~400 Hv, respectively, depending on the temperature of HTGN. The nitrogen content was analyzed 1.4 wt% and 1.6 wt% at the surface layer of STS 347 and STS 310S steels, respectively. In addition, an improvement in the corrosion resistance of HTGN treated specimens was observed.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.221-231
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• 2023

Interest in aluminum alloys for the hydrogen valves of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is growing due to the reduction in fuel efficiency by the high weight. However, when an aluminum alloy is used, deterioration in mechanical characteristics caused by hydrogen embrittlement and wear is regarded as a problem. In this investigation, the aluminum alloy used to prevent hydrogen embrittlement was subjected to surface treatments by performing hard anodizing and plasma ion nitriding processes. The hard anodized Al alloy exhibited brittleness in which the mechanical characteristics rapidly deteriorated due to porosity and defects of surface, resulting in a decrease in the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of toughness by 15.58 and 42.51%, respectively, as the hydrogen charging time increased from 0 to 96 hours. In contrast, no distinct nitriding layer in the plasma ion-nitrided Al alloy was observed due to oxide film formation and processing conditions. However, compared to 0 and 96 hours of hydrogen charging time, the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of toughness decreased by 7.54 and 13.32%, respectively, presenting excellent resistance to hydrogen embrittlement.