Examination of corrosive wear performances of thermochemically treated cementation steels

Rapidly developing surface development techniques in recent years positively affect mechanical properties of machinery such as fatigue and hardness, and surface properties such as wear and corrosion. In this study, the carbonitriding process was applied to low-carbon case cementation steel. After the process, their microstructures were examined with an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Wear tests were carried out under different loads in both dry and corrosive environments and compared with the sample without heat treatment. As a result of the carbonitriding process, up to four times an increase in hardness was observed compared to the sample that was not subjected to any thermochemical treatment. When looking at the coating thickness, it was observed that homogeneity was achieved and a thickness of 42 microns was reached. Wear performance was improved two times in the dry environment and a similar improvement was seen in the corrosive environment.