Pin on disc wear investigation of nitrocarburised H13 tool steel

Nitrocarburised H13 disks were tested in dry, sliding wear against a stationary ruby ball (pin). Three different 4 h nitrocarburising treatments were compared, using N₂/NH₃/CO₂, N₂/NH₃/natural gas and N₂/NH₃ gas mixtures, resulting in compound layers of varying thickness, hardness, porosity and oxide morphology. During mild, oxidative wear, with the formation of abrasive wear debris, the most brittle and oxidised surfaces performed poorly. Polishing to a bright, reflective finish greatly reduced wear. However, the N₂/NH₃/CO₂ sample also frequently maintained a ‘very mild’ wear regime, owing to the formation of a protective film between the wear surfaces, and resulting in a lowering of the friction coefficient. This treated surface was porous and covered in a complex layer of coarse oxide+ϵ-carbonitride. Nitrocarburised samples and wear tracks were characterised by optical microscopy, SEM, atomic force microscopy and stylus profilometry.