Rodrigo Perito Cardoso

Low-temperature plasma nitriding of sintered PIM 316L austenitic stainless steel

This work reports experimental results on sintered PIM 316L stainless steel low-temperature plasma nitriding. The effect of treatment temperature and time on process kinetics, microstructure and surface characteristics of the nitrided samples were investigated. Nitriding was carried out at temperatures of 350, 380, 410 and 440 oC , and times of 4, 8 and 16 h, using a gas mixture composed by 60% N2 + 20% H2 + 20% Ar, at a gas flow rate of 5.00 × 10-6 Nm3s-1, and a pressure of 800 Pa. The treated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and microhardness measurements. Results indicate that low-temperature plasma nitriding is a diffusion controlled process. The calculated activation energy for nitrided layer growth was 111.4 kJmol-1. Apparently precipitation-free layers were produced in this study. It was also observed that the higher the treatment temperature and time the higher is the obtained surface hardness. Hardness up to 1343 HV0.025 was verified for samples nitrided at 440 oC. Finally, the characterization of the treated surface indicates the formation of cracks, which were observed in regions adjacent to the original pores after the treatment.

Low-temperature Thermochemical Treatments of Stainless Steels – An Introduction

Plasma technology used to perform thermochemical treatments is well established for the majority of steels, but it is not the case for the different stainless steel classes. Thus, im‐ portant scientific and technological achievements can be expected in the coming years re‐ garding plasma-assisted thermochemical treatment of such steels. The metallurgical aspects as well as the application cost-efficiency of stainless steels impose specific re‐ quirements for the thermochemical treatment, such as easy native chromium-rich oxide layer removal and surface activation at low temperature, which do not appear for other steel classes (plain, low-alloy, and tool steels). Thus, due to the highly reactive physico‐ chemical environment created by the plasma, plasma-assisted technology presents ad‐ vantages over other “conventional” technologies like those performed in gas or liquid environments. Low temperature is needed to avoid the reduction of corrosion resistance of stainless steels, by suppressing chromium carbide/nitride precipitation, and, in this case, good surface properties are achieved by the formation of treated layers containing metastable phases. Such attributes make the low-temperature plasma thermochemical treatments of stainless steels an important R&D field in the domain of plasma technology and surface treatments, and the goal of this chapter is to introduce the reader to this im‐ portant topic.

Low-temperature Plasma Assisted Thermochemical Treatments of AISI 420 Steel: Comparative Study of Obtained Layers

Formation of metastable C–, N–, or even Formation of metastable C–, N–, or even C/N– expanded phases can be observed for typical non-equilibrium conditions attained at the plasma assisted thermochemical treatments when temperatures relatively low are used. In present work, kinetics data are considered in a comparative study comprising low-temperature plasma assisted carburizing, nitriding and nitrocarburizing of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel samples treated at 350, 400, and 450 °C, aiming to put in evidence the main metallurgical differences of the obtained layers. Microstructural characterization and hardness measurement results for untreated and treated sample surfaces show significant difference for the carburized layer growth in relation to that verified for the nitrided and nitrocarburized layers. While the carburized layer is constituted of a thin outer layer and a deep diffusion layer, just the opposite was observed for the other two treatments, id est., formation of thicker outer layers and thinner diffusion layers. Finally, carbide-/nitride-precipitation-free layers were supposedly obtained for samples carburized, nitrided, and nitrocarburized at 350 °C temperature.

Application of Direct Current Plasma Sintering Process in Powder Metallurgy

Direct current (dc) plasma-assisted sintering of metal parts is a promising and relatively new research and development field in powder metallurgy (PM). In the present entry, it is intended to introduce the reader to the main applications of the dc plasma sintering process in PM. To achieve this goal, the present entry is divided in a brief introduction and sections in which the bases of the dc plasma abnormal glow discharge regime and its influence in the sintering process are carefully treated. In this case, a clear language is purposely used to didactically introduce the reader to this “fascinating glow world”, the dc plasma-assisted sintering of metal parts, aiming to put in evidence the main points on physicochemical aspects of the plasma environment, basic knowledge of the plasma heating, and surface-related phenomena during dc plasma sintering of parts. All these aspects are treated considering the main techniques of the dc plasma-assisted sintering process applied to PM. Finally, some results on DC plasma heating, sintering and surface modification are presented.

MICRO-ABRASIVE WEAR BEHAVIOUR OF LOW-TEMPERATURE PLASMA CARBURIZED AISI 420 MARTENSITIC STAINLESS STEEL

Experiments were carried out aiming to study the influence of micro-abrasive wear test variables and plasma treatment parameters, on the tribological characteristics of low-temperature plasma carburized AISI 420 steel. The first part of this study was conducted in order to evaluate the influence of abrasive particle size, normal load and counter body rotation speed on carburized sample wear behavior; and the second part was conducted in order to evaluate the treatment temperature and time effect on carburized samples wear behavior. Plasma carburizing treatments were performed at 8 and 12 h, for temperatures ranging from 350 to 500°C; and at constant temperatures of 400°C for times between 12 to 48h, and for 450°C for times of 4 to 16h. Micro-abrasive wear test were performed by mean of a calowear ballcratering equipment using a polished ball of AISI 52100 steel rotating at 80, 120 and 160 rpm, for sliding distances from 2.6 to 104.2 m. Alumina abrasive particles with sizes of 0.05, 0.3 and 1.0 m were employed. The normal loads applied on this study were 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 N. Carburized sample was characterized by mean of OM, XRD and hardness measurements. Worn crater characteristics were evaluated by confocal laser microscopy. Results showed that the transient wear regime prevails along the outer layer length (composed by Fe3C and ’C), and the steady-state wear stabilizes in the diffusion layer region (composed by ’C). It was verified that the wear rate and wear coefficient decreases with treatment temperature in the range of 350–450°C and increase for 500°C. It was also verified that the wear rate and wear coefficient decreases with treatment time in the range of 12–36 h (for 400°C cycle) and 4–12 h (for 450°C cycle), and increase for larger treatment times due the chromium carbide precipitation. It was also found that the wear coefficient increases with the increase of abrasive particle size, and decrease with the increase in counter body rotation speed and normal load. Lastly, the analysis of the worn craters indicates the occurrence of grooving and micro-rolling abrasion wear mechanisms.

Sub-micro a-C:H patterning of silicon surfaces assisted by atmospheric-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Micro and nano-patterning of surfaces is an increasingly popular challenge in the field of the miniaturization of devices assembled via top-down approaches. This study demonstrates the possibility of depositing sub-micrometric localized coatings-spots, lines or even more complex shapes-made of amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) thanks to a moving XY stage. Deposition was performed on silicon substrates using chemical vapor deposition assisted by an argon atmospheric-pressure plasma jet. Acetylene was injected into the post-discharge region as a precursor by means of a glass capillary with a sub-micrometric diameter. A parametric study was carried out to study the influence of the geometric configurations (capillary diameter and capillary-plasma distance) on the deposited coating. Thus, the patterns formed were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, the chemical composition of large coated areas was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy according to the chosen atmospheric environment. The observed chemical bonds show that reactions of the gaseous precursor in the discharge region and both chemical and morphological stability of the patterns after treatment are strongly dependent on the surrounding gas. Various sub-micrometric a-C:H shapes were successfully deposited under controlled atmospheric conditions using argon as inerting gas. Overall, this new process of micro-scale additive manufacturing by atmospheric plasma offers unusually high-resolution at low cost.