INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF NITROCARBURIZING TREATMENT ON TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AISI 1045 MEDIUM CARBON STEEL

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of nitrocarburizing treatment on tribological properties of AISI 1045 steel was investigated. This medium carbon steel was used in automotive industry, especially in the manufacture of machine components due to the good mechanical properties and lower cost. Characterization of the surface layer of treated samples was made by optical microscopy (OM), Vickers microhardness test, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and pin-on-disk wear machine. Experimental results showed that the surface layers formed through nitrocarburizing processing at 580 °C (compound layer and diffusion zone) increased the microhardness. It was found also that the nitriding treatment reduced the friction coefficient and improved the wear resistance, where the specific wear rate were decreased to 1/9 was noticed after 10 hours of nitriding time.