Tribological behaviors of HfC coating prepared on 45 steel via double glow plasma surface metallurgy technique
Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
ISSN: 0036-8792
Article publication date: 27 January 2022
Issue publication date: 2 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
45 steel is a common material for the manufacture of various components such as shafts or gears. However, its poor surface properties often limit its applications. The purpose of this paper is to find a way to enhance the surface performance of 45 steel, which is expected to improve the wear resistance of 45 steel.
Design/methodology/approach
Double glow plasma surface metallurgy technique was used to prepare hafnium carbide (HfC) coatings on the surface of the 45 steel with two preparation process; one is to diffuse two elements together, while the other is to diffuse step by step. The scanning electronic microscopy and the X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the morphology and phase of the HfC coatings. And then the wear tests were carried out for this coating.
Findings
Coating diffused step by step shows better performance; it has a 15-µm alloyed layer which is uniform and dense and its hardness can reach up to 1326.5 Vickers-hardness (HV). While the coating fabricated by diffusing elements together owns a 10-µm alloyed layer and its hardness is 1204.1 HV. According to the wear test results, both coatings have a protective effect on the substrate and the coating prepared by step-by-step diffusion process has less wear volume, indicating that it possesses better friction reduction.
Originality/value
A new method which diffuses elements together was successfully used to prepare compound HfC coating, which can reduce the cost of coating preparation and improve the efficiency of coating preparation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science foundation of China (Grant No 51874185); and the National Major Science and Technology Projects of China (2017-IV-00-05-0042); and National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (202110287045); and the Foundation of the Graduate Innovation Center, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (No. kfjj20200606).
Citation
Zang, K., Chen, W., Liang, W., Miao, Q., Yao, W., Li, J. and Ma, Y. (2022), "Tribological behaviors of HfC coating prepared on 45 steel via double glow plasma surface metallurgy technique", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 74 No. 2, pp. 228-236. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-09-2021-0378
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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