Nitrocarburising in ammonia-hydrocarbon gas mixtures

H. Pedersen; T. L. Christiansen; M. A. J. Somers

doi:10.3139/105.110090

Article

Nitrocarburising in ammonia-hydrocarbon gas mixtures

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Published/Copyright: May 31, 2013

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From the journal HTM Journal of Heat Treatment and Materials Volume 66 Issue 2

Abstract

The present work investigates the possibility of nitrocarburising in ammonia-acetylene-hydrogen and ammonia-propene-hydrogen gas mixtures, where unsaturated hydrocarbon gas is the carbon source during nitrocarburising. Consequently, nitrocarburising is carried out in a reducing atmosphere and straightforward control of the carburising and nitriding potentials is in principle possible. The nitrocarburising response of unalloyed (ARMCO) Fe was investigated in a thermobalance during controlled nitrocarburising at 580°C. The “cases” obtained on nitrocarburised iron were characterized by reflected light microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. It is shown that the use of unsaturated hydrocarbon gas in nitrocarburising processes is a viable alternative to traditional nitrocarburising methods.

Kurzfassung

Im vorliegenden Bericht wird die Möglichkeit des Nitrocarburierens in Ammoniak-Acetylen-Wasserstoff sowie Ammoniak-Propen-Wasserstoff-Gemischen untersucht, wobei als Kohlenstoffquelle während der Nitrocarburierung ungesättigtes Kohlenwasserstoffgas Verwendung findet. Infolgedessen erfolgt die Nitrocarburierung in einer reduzierenden Atmosphäre und die unmittelbare Kontrolle des Aufkohlungs- bzw. Nitrierpotenzials ist möglich. Die Wirkung des Nitrocarburierens auf unlegiertes Armcoeisen wurde in einer Thermowaage bei 580 °C untersucht. Die erzielten Schichten wurden im Lichtmikroskop sowie durch Röntgenbeugung analysiert. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Verwendung von ungesättigtem Kohlenwasserstoffgas eine mögliche Alternative zu den üblichen Nitrocarburierbehandlungen darstellt.

Keywords: Nitrocarburising; hydrocarbon gas; iron; thermogravimetry; X-ray diffraction

Schlüsselwörter: Nitrocarburieren; Kohlenwasserstoff-Gas; Eisen; Thermogravimetrie; Röntgendiffraktion

References

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Published Online: 2013-05-31

Published in Print: 2011-04-01

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https://doi.org/10.3139/105.110090

Keywords for this article

Nitrocarburising; hydrocarbon gas; iron; thermogravimetry; X-ray diffraction