Wear and corrosion resistance of pack chromised carbon steel

Pack chromising treatment is an environmentally friendly alternative to hard chromium to form wear and corrosion resistant surface layers. In this work, samples of AISI 1060 steel were pack chromised for 6 and 9 h at 1000 and 1050°C using different activator concentrations. Wear tests were performed in dry conditions and corrosion tests in natural sea water for the pack chromised samples and hard chromium. Pack chromising yielded the formation of layers with high chromium concentrations, high hardness and wear resistance. Increasing activator concentration causes no significant change on the morphology and thickness of the layers. The layers produced at 1050°C yielded only a (Cr,Fe)₂N_1−x phase, and those obtained at 1000°C are composed of a carbide mixture with (Cr,Fe)₂N_1−x. The sample treated at 1050°C for 9 h resulted in an optimum condition by means of better wear resistance and corrosion properties, which were close to that exhibited by the hard chrome, indicating that pack chromising is a promising alternative.