Open Access Conference Proceedings

Carbonitriding combines the effects of saturation of the surface of the component with nitrogen and carbon simultaneously. The layer has a hardness approaching 1000 HV and is highly resistant to galling and abrasion. For this reason, carbonitriding components are used in applications with high demands on thermal load and wear resistance (e.g. valves of internal combustion engines, segments of crankshafts, etc.). Mostly in case of components after carbonitriding are not required subsequent grinding due to a minimum increase of the dimensions and small changes in surface roughness. Presented work documents a change of parameters of the surface topography of 16MnCr5 steel after carbonitriding in gas and plasma. The layers were applied to the grinded surfaces of the specimens and then compared. The surface morphology and 2D and 3D surface parameters were measured. After carbonitriding considerable porosity of the resulting layer was found, especially after carbonitriding in gas. Applications of carbonitriding both in gas and plasma resulted in only a slight increase observed roughness parameters.

Keywords: Carbonitriding, surface topography, surface roughness

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