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In-line Process Control in the Active Screen Plasma Nitrocarburizing Using a Combined Approach Based on Infrared Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and Bias Power Management*

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Published/Copyright: August 19, 2016
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HTM Journal of Heat Treatment and Materials
From the journal HTM Journal of Heat Treatment and Materials Volume 71 Issue 4

Abstract

The active screen plasma nitrocarburizing (ASPNC) technology is an extension of the ASPN method in that carbon-bearing gases such as CH4 are admixed to the N2-H2 process gas. Besides process gas composition and working pressure, a bias power applied to the component surface is an important parameter in the nitrocarburizing process governing the competing uptake between nitrogen and carbon on the metallic surface. A variation of the bias power during the treatment provides the possibility of the dynamic control of both the nitriding and the carburizing potential without change of process gas composition. A two-stage process was implemented to improve the quality of the compound layer. The application of advanced in-situ and non-intrusive spectroscopic method of laser absorption spectroscopy in the mid infrared spectral range provides the valuable information about the plasma chemical reactions in the afterglow plasma, supplying the absolute concentrations of stable and transient molecular species monitored direct in process. The amount of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) measured in-situ by QCLAS diagnostics was found to be a reliable parameter to control the carburizing potential of the nitrocarburizing atmosphere.

Kurzfassung

Das Plasmanitrocarburieren mit einem Aktivgitter (ASPNC) ist eine Erweiterung des Plasmanitrierens, dabei werden dem Prozessgas kohlenstoffhaltige Medien wie z. B. CH4beigemischt. Neben der Zusammensetzung des Prozessgases und dem Arbeitsdruck ist das Bias von großer Bedeutung, es bestimmt beim Nitrocarburieren maßgeblich die konkurrierende Aufstickung und Aufkohlung der Bauteiloberfläche. Die Variation des Bias ermöglicht deshalb eine dynamische Kontrolle des Nitrier- und Carburierpotenzials während des Prozesses ohne Veränderung der Prozessgaszusammensetzung. Zur Verbesserung der Qualität der Verbindungsschichten wurde ein zweistufiger Prozess entwickelt. Die Anwendung fortgeschrittener nicht intrusiver spektroskopischer In-situ-Methoden der Laserabsorptionsspektroskopie im mittleren Infrarot-Spektralbereich liefert wertvolle Informationen über die plasmachemischen Reaktionen im Afterglow-Plasma (Nachglimm-Plasma), die absoluten Konzentrationen stabiler und transienter molekularer Spezies, gemessen direkt im Prozess. Es wurde festgestellt, dass die Menge an Zyanwasserstoff (HCN), durch QCLAS-Diagnostik (Quantenkaskadenlaser-Absorptionsspektroskopie) in situ gemessen, ein zuverlässiger Parameter für die Kontrolle des Carburierpotenzials beim Nitrocarburieren ist.

Keywords: Active screen plasma nitrocarburizing; afterglow; ∊-carbonitride layer; bias activation; process control; mid infrared QCLAS
Schlüsselwörter: Aktivgitter-Plasmanitrocarburieren; Nachglimmen (afterglow); ∊-Carbonitrid; Bias-Aktivierung; Prozessüberwachung; QCLAS-Diagnostik (Quantenkaskadenlaser-Absorptionsspektroskopie)
*

Lecture at the European Conference on Heat Treatment 2016 and 3rd International Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering in Automotive Applications, 11–13 May 2016, Prague, Czech Republic

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References

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Published Online: 2016-08-19
Published in Print: 2016-08-17

© 2016, Carl Hanser Verlag, München

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Veranstaltungen/Events
  2. Veranstaltungen
  3. HTM-Praxis
  4. HTM-Praxis
  5. Kurzfassungen/Abstracts
  6. Kurzfassungen
  7. Inhalt/Contents
  8. Inhalt
  9. Fachbeiträge/Technical Contributions
  10. In-line Process Control in the Active Screen Plasma Nitrocarburizing Using a Combined Approach Based on Infrared Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and Bias Power Management*
  11. An Investigation of the Tribological Behaviour of High-Speed Tool Steels at Elevated Temperatures*
  12. Vergleich tribologischer Laboranalysen mit praktischen Ergebnissen aus Umform- und Zerspanprozessen am Beispiel von schwefelhaltigen Kühlschmierstoffen
  13. Investigations on Erosion and Corrosion Behavior of High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel Sprayed WC-Cr3C2-Ni Coatings on AISI 1018 Steel
  14. Automatische Qualitätskontrolle von Walzstählen mit der ACA-Methode
https://doi.org/10.3139/105.110292
Keywords for this article
Active screen plasma nitrocarburizing; afterglow; ∊-carbonitride layer; bias activation; process control; mid infrared QCLAS

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Veranstaltungen/Events
  2. Veranstaltungen
  3. HTM-Praxis
  4. HTM-Praxis
  5. Kurzfassungen/Abstracts
  6. Kurzfassungen
  7. Inhalt/Contents
  8. Inhalt
  9. Fachbeiträge/Technical Contributions
  10. In-line Process Control in the Active Screen Plasma Nitrocarburizing Using a Combined Approach Based on Infrared Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and Bias Power Management*
  11. An Investigation of the Tribological Behaviour of High-Speed Tool Steels at Elevated Temperatures*
  12. Vergleich tribologischer Laboranalysen mit praktischen Ergebnissen aus Umform- und Zerspanprozessen am Beispiel von schwefelhaltigen Kühlschmierstoffen
  13. Investigations on Erosion and Corrosion Behavior of High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel Sprayed WC-Cr3C2-Ni Coatings on AISI 1018 Steel
  14. Automatische Qualitätskontrolle von Walzstählen mit der ACA-Methode
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