2002 ASM International. All Rights Reserved.

Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics (#06952G)

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Surface Hardening of Steels

Understanding the Basics

Edited by

J.R. Davis Davis & Associates

ASM International Materials Park, OH 44073-0002 www.asminternational.org

 2002 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics (#06952G) Copyright 2002 by ASM International All rights reserved

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright owner. First printing, November 2002

Great care is taken in the compilation and production of this book, but it should be made clear that NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE GIVEN IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PUBLICATION. Although this information is believed to be accurate by ASM, ASM cannot guarantee that favorable results will be obtained from the use of this publication alone. This publication is intended for use by persons having technical skill, at their sole discretion and risk. Since the conditions of product or material use are outside of ASM's control, ASM assumes no liability or obligation in connection with any use of this information. No claim of any kind, whether as to products or information in this publication, and whether or not based on negligence, shall be greater in amount than the purchase price of this product or publication in respect of which damages are claimed. THE REMEDY HEREBY PROVIDED SHALL BE THE EXCLUSIVE AND SOLE REMEDY OF BUYER, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHETHER OR NOT CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH PARTY. As with any material, evaluation of the material under enduse conditions prior to specication is essential. Therefore, specic testing under actual conditions is recommended. Nothing contained in this book shall be construed as a grant of any right of manufacture, sale, use, or reproduction, in connection with any method, process, apparatus, product, composition, or system, whether or not covered by letters patent, copyright, or trademark, and nothing contained in this book shall be construed as a defense against any alleged infringement of letters patent, copyright, or trademark, or as a defense against liability for such infringement. Comments, criticisms, and suggestions are invited, and should be forwarded to ASM International. ASM International staff who worked on this project included; Bonnie Sanders, Manager of Production; Nancy Hrivnak and Jill Kinson, Production Editors; and Scott Henry, Assistant Director of Reference Publications. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Surface hardening of steels : understanding the basics / edited by J.R. Davis p. c.m. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. SteelMetallurgy. I. Title: Surface treatment of steels. II. Davis, J.R. (Joseph R.) TN731.S85 2002 672.36dc21 2002034248 ISBN: 0-87170-764-0 SAN: 204-7586 ASM International Materials Park, OH 44073-0002 www.asminternational.org Printed in the United States of America

 2002 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics (#06952G)

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Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 Process Selection Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Diffusion Methods of Surface Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Surface Hardening by Applied Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Surface Hardening by Coating or Surface Modication . . . . . . . 7 Important Considerations for Process Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Process Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Surface Hardening by Thermochemical Diffusion Treatments

Chapter 2 Gas Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gas Curburizing Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristic Features of Carburized Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbon Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carburizing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparation of Parts for Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carburizing Process Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gas Carburizing Atmospheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbon Concentration Gradients and Surface Carbon Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Process Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selective Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimensional Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Case Depth Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microstructures of Carburized Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martensite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Austenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alloying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intergranular Fracture at Austenite Grain Boundaries . . . . . . . . Microcracking in Carburized Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excessive Retained Austenite and Massive Carbides . . . . . . . . Residual Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surface and Internal Oxidation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Properties of Carburized Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bending Fatigue Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other Properties of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 17 17 18 19 21 21 25 29 39 42 43 44 46 46 49 53 55 57 60 60 62 64 65 66 79

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Chapter 3 Vacuum and Plasma Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Vacuum Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Plasma Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Chapter 4 Pack and Liquid Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Pack Carburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Liquid Carburizing and Cyaniding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Chapter 5 Carbonitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applicable Steels and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Composition of Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depth of Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hardenability of Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hardness Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Void Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Furnaces and Furnace Atmospheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control of Retained Austenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quenching Media and Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tempering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbonitriding of Powder Metallurgy Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Combined Carburizing/Carbonitriding Treatments . . . . . . . . . Chapter 6 Nitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gas Nitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modied Gas Nitriding Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pack Nitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liquid Nitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plasma (or Ion) Nitriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wear Resistance of Nitrided Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 7 Nitrocarburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Compound Layer and Diffusion Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liquid Nitrocarburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gas Ferritic Nitrocarburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plasma Nitrocarburizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 8 Boriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and Disadvantages of Boriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boride Layer Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steel Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Effects of Alloying Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boriding Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Properties of Borided Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applications for Pack Boriding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 9 Thermal Diffusion Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Process Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of TD-Processed Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 127 128 128 131 132 133 133 134 135 136 137 138 141 141 165 167 167 177 187 195 195 195 204 208 213 213 214 215 215 217 221 223 227 227 232 233

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 2002 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics (#06952G)

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Surface Hardening by Non-Diffusion Methods

Chapter 10 Surface Hardening by Applied Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flame Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Induction Surface Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laser Surface Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electron-Beam Surface Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 11 Surface Hardening by Coating or Surface Modication . . . . . . . Hard Chromium Plating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electroless Nickel Plating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hardfacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thermal Spraying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chemical and Physical Vapor Deposition Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ion Implantation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laser Surface Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 237 242 264 267 275 275 282 286 293 297 301 302

Appendix
Appendix 1 Iron-Carbon Phase Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 Appendix 2 Austenitizing Temperatures for Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Appendix 3 Hardness Conversion Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 Alloy Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

 2002 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics (#06952G)

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Preface

Surface hardening is a generic term covering a number of processes used to improve the wear resistance of ferrous parts without affecting the more soft, tough interior of the part. The combination of a hard surface and softer interior, made possible, for example, by case hardening methods, is of inestimable value in modern engineering practice. By the use of high-quality alloy steels, great strength and toughness in the core can be combined with extreme surface hardness, resulting in a composite structure capable of withstanding certain kinds of stress to a high degree. For less exacting requirements, there are many applications where low or moderate core properties, together with a high degree of surface hardness, can be obtained with cheaply fabricated, low-priced carbon steel. Three of the major types of treatments that are conventionally used to enhance surface wear resistance are classied as thermochemical, thermal, and coating or plating. Examples of thermochemical treatments include carburizing, nitriding, and carbonitriding (case hardening methods). Examples of thermal or applied energy treatments include ame and induction hardening. Coating or plating processes include hard chromium plating, electroless nickel plating, and various hardfacing methods. These long established surface hardening technologies are continually being improved and remain among the most widely used. However, today completely different surface hardening technologies are being applied to and developed for steels. The objective remains the same, that is, enhanced surface performance, but technologies that incorporate highenergy beams, plasmas, magnetic and electrical elds, and vacuums are being applied. Some of these technologies have been used for some time in the electronics industry to fabricate thin lm devices and circuits and therefore cannot be considered new technologies. Their application to steel, however, is relatively new, and they elevate the level of sophistication and control of surface hardening. Surface Hardening of Steels: Understanding the Basics is a practical selection guide to help engineers and technicians choose the optimum surface hardening treatment for a given application from an ever increasing number of options. Emphasis is placed on characteristics such as processing temperature, case/coating thickness, bond strength, and hardness level obtained. The advantages and limitations of the various surface modication technologies are compared. Recent developments in the understanding of the relationships between microstructure and fatigue and wear performance are reviewed, as are more recently introduced surface hardening processes such as vacuum/plasmarelated technologies, laser processing, chemical vapor deposition/physical vapor deposition, and ion implantation. Methods for evaluating hardness patterns and depths of hardness for quality control and failure analysis are described. Metallurgical comparisons are made between those processes that offer rapid heating and rapid cooling (selfquenching) characteristicsfor example, induction hardeningand conventional furnace hardening. Metallurgical characteristics and properties obtained by atmosphere and vacuum carburizing are also compared. Wear and corrosion data are also provided to demonstrate the benets of each process.
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The successful completion of this book would not have been possible without the generous assistance of the ASM staff. In particular I would like to thank Scott Henry, Assistant Director, Technical Publications; Don Baxter, Managing Editor, Advanced Materials & Processes and Heat Treating Progress; and Eleanor Baldwin from the ASM Library. I called on them often for help, perhaps too often, but they always came through. Thanks again my fellow colleagues and friends. Joseph R. Davis Davis & Associates Chagrin Falls, Ohio

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