Experimental Investigation on Roughness Parameters of 42CrMo4 Steel Surface During Nitrocarburizing Treatment

Abstract

To evaluate the performance characteristics of various surfaces, a detailed and precise description of the surface's micro-geometry properties is required. In this context, roughness is a reliable indicator of the possible behavior of mechanical piece performance, since distortions on the surface can form a direct cause for cracks or corrosion. As a result, characterization of surface roughness is very important for zero-defect fabrication. This paper investigates the 2D roughness parameters of a 42CrMo4 steel surface before and after nitrocarburizing treatment. The latter was accomplished at 580 °C for 10 hours in a salt bath containing sodium cyanates and potassium carbonates. A surface profilometer was used to analyze the influence of nitrocarburizing treatment on the material's surface roughness parameters behavior. The parameters that comprehensively describes the surface structure, namely the amplitude, spacing, hybrid parameters, and material ratio parameters were highlighted. The results of the experiments indicated that the nitrocarburizing treatment was effective in increasing almost all the 2D roughness parameters of the 42CrMo4 steel surface.

Study of the Influence of Coating Roughness on the Properties and Wear Resistance of Electrospark Deposited Ti6Al4V Titanium Alloy

“…the roughness of the coated surface worsens. Similar results to the present ones after nitrocarburization treatment are reported in [21].…”

“…The thickness δ of the coatings was determined with an indicator clock with an accuracy of 0.001 mm. Taking into account the friction processes and the conditions of contact plastic and elastic deformations and stress concentration, and also the data presented in [17][18][19][20][21] on the correlation of the roughness parameters with the coefficient of friction, the following parameters were selected for evaluation the roughness of the deposited coatings:…”

“…It is known [16][17][18] that surface roughness and texture play an important role on the coefficient of friction values and the wear characteristics. In tribology, rough surfaces typically have higher coefficients of friction and wear out more quickly [18][19][20][21].…”

Influence of Surface Roughness on the Properties of Nitrided Layer on 42CrMo4 Steel

“…42CrMo4 steel was selected for the present experiment due to its popularity in nitriding processes [ 7 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 26 , 27 ]. Its chemical composition is shown in Table 1 .…”

“…The material is applied in components such as gear wheels, crankshafts and barrel and breechblock mechanisms due to the high strength and high toughness properties of the steel grade. However, the steel has characteristics of unfavorable tribological properties due to its low abrasive resistance [ 19 , 21 , 22 ]. Surface properties of 42CrMo4 steel can be improved by thermochemical treatment—nitriding [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”