Facultad Regional Concep. del Uruguay

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Subject: search.filters.subject.AISI 4140 steel

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    Friction and wear of a-C:H and a-C:H:Si coatings sliding against different counterpart materials under dry and moist environments
    (2024-05-19) Delfín, Francisco Andrés; Jeoffrey, Jecozale; Schachinger, Manuel; Forsich, Christian; Brühl, Sonia Patricia; Heim, Daniel
    The self-lubricating effect of DLC coatings is a very well-known feature, although they have yet to occupy a substantially influential position in mainstream tribological applications. This objective is increasingly critical due to the escalating worldwide focus on achieving energy efficiency, lowering fuel consumption and cutting environmentally harmful emissions. To reach these milestones, a deeper understanding of DLC coatings is required, namely regarding the intricate relationship of friction and wear rates within diverse tribosystems, where parameters such as relative humidity and the material of the counter body show decisive influence. In this work, DLC coatings were deposited using a modified commercially available PA-CVD system on AISI 4140 steel. Two kind of coatings were produced, a-C:H and a-C:H:Si, at temperatures of 450 °C and 550 °C. Process gas consisted of a mixture of argon, acetylene, and HMDSO as silicon precursor. Characterization was carried out by means of nanoindentation, Raman spectroscopy, as well as GDOES and EDX. Tribological behavior was evaluated by means of Pin-on-Disk, using the coated sample as the disk, a 12 N normal load, a speed of 0.4 m/s and a total sliding distance of 2000 m. Counterparts were 6 mm balls, of which three different materials were used: AISI 52100 bearing steel, Al2O3 and Si3N4. Test chamber was conditioned using forced air recirculation and beakers containing either water or regenerated silica gel to create a humid or a dry environment, respectively. Friction coefficient was registered during the entire test. The wear track was evaluated with optical and confocal microscopy, as well as SEM/EDX and Raman spectroscopy. Hardness and elastic modulus increased with deposition temperature, and the values were doubled with silicon doping. However, a lower friction coefficient and wear volume loss were found in Si-free samples. In general, the coatings showed varied responses to the different environments and counterparts: a-C:H showed oxidation with higher humidity, whereas a-C:H:Si exhibited high wear in the drier ambient, producing several peaks in the friction coefficient during the test. The steel counterpart exhibited a lubricious oxide layer that helped reduce the friction coefficient, thus performing better in the humid environment. The Si3N4 counterpart showed the highest adhesion when sliding against a-C:H:Si, although a rather low friction coefficient and wear was shown when testing the Si-free samples.
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    Plasma nitriding plus oxidizing as a protective treatment for AISI 4140 steel
    (2022-09-29) Dalibón Bähler, Eugenia Laura; Vergniaud, Pablo Martín; Karges, Esteban; Cabo, Amado; Brühl, Sonia Patricia
    AISI 4140 is a typical chromium molybdenum medium alloy steel, widely used as construction steel for machine components. Plasma nitriding has been applied as surface hardening treatment with success but the nitrided layer isn ́t always good for corrosion. Plasma nitriding plus oxidizing is proposed as an environmentally friendly alternative which can assure a good wear resistance and also provide a corrosion protective surface layer. In this investigation, heat treated AISI 4140 steel was plasma nitrided in a 15 hours process at 500 C and then oxidized in the same chamber using two different temperatures: 400 C and 500 C, 1 hour duration in a water steam atmosphere. Microstructure was analysed by optical and electronic microscopy and XRD. Wear resistance was tested in a pin on disk machine using alumina as counterpart and corrosion resistance was evaluated in salt spray fog tests and electrochemical tests in NaCl solution, comparing with only nitrided samples of the same steel. The oxide layer was 0.5 microns width, and the nitrided compound layer beneath, 3 microns width. XRD revealed the presence of magnetite and in a minor proportion, hematite in the oxide layer, and gamma iron nitrides in the nitrided layer. In the pin on disk tests with 3 N load no significative variations occurred between the oxidized samples compared with the only nitrided ones, neither in volume loss nor in friction coefficient. On the other hand, in the salt spray fog tests, only the nitrided samples oxidized at 400 C did not present signs of general corrosion after 100 h test. In the electrochemical tests, both oxidized samples had a nobler corrosion potential and a pseudo passive region, showing a better corrosion behaviour of the oxidized samples compared to the nitrided ones, which suffered from active dissolution in the chloride solution.