SURFACE TREATMENT ON STEEL THROUGH DIFFUSION HARDENING

FOR AUTOMOBILE APPLICATIONS

Research Supervisor Research Scholar

Dr Adam Khan M, Mr Ebenezer. G,
Associate Professor, Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education. Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education.
 Objective of the Research

 To study the Tribological and Corrosion behaviour of the surface treated steel for automobile
applications.
 To study the Electrochemical / Material kinetics during exposure.
 Methodology of the Research

 The candidate material is Low alloy steel [EN24].

 Case hardening of Low alloy steel through Boronizing and Chromizing.
Kinetics of Diffusion, Effect of Temperature, Time on diffusion
 The sliding wear test through pin – on – disc wear instrument.
Wear mechanism, Coefficient of Friction
 The same set of samples are used for investigating electrochemical behaviour.
Corrosion behaviour
 Metallurgical characterisation studies through Optical Microscope (OM), Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X – ray Diffractometer
(XRD).
 Surface (or) Case Hardening

 Case-hardening or surface hardening is the

process of hardening the surface of a metal
object while allowing the metal deeper
underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin
layer of harder metal (called the "case") at
the surface.
 The basic process is thermochemical, heat is
used to enhance the diffusion of hardening
elements into the surface.
 Diffusivity is calculated using Fick’s Law.
 Case depth depends on the temperature, time
and chemical composition.
 Boronizing and Chromizing
 Boronizing (also known as boriding) is a thermo-chemical surface hardening process in which
boron atoms are diffused into the surface of a work piece to form complex borides (i.e. –
FeB/FeB2) with the base metal.
Features/Benefits of Boronizing Process:
High hardness (1600-1900 HV in ferrous materials), High resistance to temperature
(approx. 1200 ° F), Increases resistance to acids (especially Hydrochloric acid),
Reduced coefficient of friction (0.4)
 Chromizing is a thermo-chemical process consisting of saturating, by way of diffusion, of ferrous
alloys, predominantly of steel, with chromium.
Features/Benefits of Chromizing process
Corrosion resistance, High temperature oxidation resistance, Wear resistance
 Wear and Corrosion

 Wear is related to interactions between surfaces and specifically the removal and deformation of
material on a surface as a result of mechanical action of the opposite surface.
 DUCOM-TR20 pin on disc wear test apparatus under dry condition at room temperature condition,
based on ASTM G99-95 standard.
 Corrosion is a natural process, which converts a refined metal to a more chemically-stable form,
such as its oxide, hydroxide, or sulfide. It is the gradual destruction of materials (usually metals)
by chemical and/or electrochemical reaction with their environment.
 The corrosion studies were studied based on G3-14 standard.
 EN24 Steel Properties and applications

Applications: Aircraft and heavy vehicle crank shafts, Connecting rods, Gear shafts, Chain parts,
Clutches, Propeller shafts, Cam shafts, Spindles, Screws, Studs, Pinions, Tappets, Boring bars.

Typical chemical composition of En24

C Si Mn S P Cr Mo Ni
0.36/0.44 0.10/0.35 0.45/0.70 0.040 max 0.035 max 1.00/1.40 0.20/0.35 1.30/1.70
 Literature Collection

1. Sinha, Anil Kumar. "Boriding(Boronizing)." ASM International, ASM Handbook. 4 (1991): 437-447.
2. Wang, Qian, and Yip-wah Chung, eds. Encyclopedia of tribology. New York: Springer, 2013: 382-
387.
3. Sreejith, G., et al. "Low temperature boronizing of surface nanostructured Ni-Cr-Mo steel using
SMAT." Materials Science Forum. Vol. 830. Trans Tech Publications, 2015.
4. Lee, Sang Yul, Gwang Seok Kim, and Bum-Suk Kim. "Mechanical properties of duplex layer formed
on AISI 403 stainless steel by chromizing and boronizing treatment." Surface and Coatings
Technology 177 (2004): 178-184.
 Literature Collection

5. Lin, N. M., et al. "Plasma surface chromizing of P110 oil casing tube steel for improving corrosion
and wear resistance purposes." Kovove Mater 53 (2015): 147-154.
6. E. Rabinowicz, Wear, 1984, 100(1), 533-541.
7. E. Atık, U. Yunker, and C. Merıç, Tribology International, 2003, 36(3), 155-161.
8. M. Ulutan, O. N. Celik, H. Gasan, and U. Er, Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2010, 26(3),
251-257.
9. X. He, H. Xiao, M. F. Ozaydin, K. Balzuweit, and H. Liang, Surface and Coatings Technology, 2015,
263, 21-26.
 Coursework Selection

1. MEC6005 Research Methodology

2. MEC5020 Corrosion Engineering
3. MEC6705 Surface Engineering
4. MEC5015 Tribology in Design
Thank you