Abstract
Although austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) are known for their superior corrosion resistance properties, the use of such materials in motion contact parts is limited due to their low wear resistance. Previous studies reveal that titanium nitride (TiN) coating of ASS significantly improves its hardness and surface morphology but not the wear resistance due to weak interfacing with the substrate. Since plasma nitriding is a flexible and multifunctional case-hardening process, an attempt was made to improve the wear resistance of TiN-coated AISI-304 stainless steel by subjecting it to pre-treatment by pulsed DC cathodic cage plasma nitriding (CCPN) in the abnormal glow region. The hardness of the TiN-coated steel samples (with and without CCPN pre-treatment) was measured using Vickers micro-hardness tester. This test revealed maximum hardness of 2284 HV after plasma treatment of TiN-coated steel. The untreated TiN-coated steel exhibited 10.6 times lower hardness than the plasma pre-treated TiN-coated steel (CCPN-TiN). XRD analysis of the untreated TiN-coated steel showed strong diffraction peaks of TiN (311) and (400) in the spectrum, whereas plasma pre-treated sample contained dominant peaks of TiN (111), (200) and (220). The ball-on-disk wear tester was used to investigate the wear behavior of the samples. Very small wear rate and friction coefficient were reported for CCPN-TiN-coated steel. The observed low wear rate was probably due to the development of a subsurface (i.e., nitrided surface) on TiN-coated steel during CCPN pre-treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C. Chen, H. Ma, J. Cai, J. Liu, and Y. Zhou, Corrosion Behaviour of Low Alloy Corrosion Resistant Steel in Simulated Concrete Environment, Mater. Res. Innovations, 2014, 18, p S4-285-S284-289
S. Wang, W. Cai, J. Li, W. Wei, and J. Hu, A Novel Rapid DC Plasma Nitriding at Low Gas Pressure for 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mater. Lett., 2013, 105, p 47–49
J. Buhagiar, T. Bell, R. Sammons, and H. Dong, Evaluation of the Biocompatibility of S-Phase Layers on Medical Grade Austenitic Stainless Steels, J. Mater. Sci. - Mater. Med., 2011, 22, p 1269–1278
E. Kasprzycka, J. Senatorski, A. Nakonieczny, and T. Babul, Diffusion Layers Produced on Carbon Steel Surface by Means of Vacuum Chromizing Process, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2003, 12, p 693–695
M. Yazıcı, H. Kovacı, A.F. Yetim, and A. Çelik, Structural, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Ti and TiN Coatings on 316L Stainless Steel, Ceram. Int., 2018, 44, p 14195–14201
S. Datta, M. Das, V.K. Balla, S. Bodhak, and V.K. Murugesan, Mechanical, Wear, Corrosion and Biological Properties of Arc Deposited Titanium Nitride Coatings, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2018, 344, p 214–222
A.U. Chaudhry, B. Mansoor, T. Mungole, G. Ayoub, and D.P. Field, Corrosion Mechanism in PVD Deposited Nano-Scale Titanium Nitride Thin Film with Intercalated Titanium for Protecting the Surface of Silicon, Electrochim. Acta, 2018, 264, p 69–82
R.M. Souto and H. Alanyali, Electrochemical Characteristics of Steel Coated with TiN and TiAlN Coatings, Corros. Sci., 2000, 42, p 2201–2211
M.R. Hilton, L.R. Narasimhan, S. Nakamura, M. Salmeron, and G.A. Somorjai, Composition, Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Plasma-Assisted Chemically Vapor-Deposited TiN Films on M2 Tool Steel, Thin Solid Films, 1986, 139, p 247–260
S.J. Bull, P.R. Chalker, C.F. Ayres, and D.S. Rickerby, The Influence of Titanium Interlayers on the Adhesion of Titanium Nitride Coatings Obtained by Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition, Mater. Sci. Eng., A, 1991, 139, p 71–78
J. Shieh and M.H. Hon, Nanostructure and Hardness of Titanium Aluminum Nitride Prepared by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, Thin Solid Films, 2001, 391, p 101–108
J.Y. Chen, G.P. Yu, and J.H. Huang, Corrosion Behavior and Adhesion of Ion-Plated Tin Films on AISI, 304 Steel, Mater. Chem. Phys., 2000, 65, p 310–315
A. Nishimoto, H. Nii, R. Narita, and K. Akamatsu, Simultaneous Duplex Process of TiN Coating and Nitriding by Active Screen Plasma Nitriding, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 228, p S558–S562
A. Yazdani, M. Soltanieh, H. Aghajani, and S. Rastegari, Deposition of Nano Sized Titanium Nitride on H11 Tool Steel Using Active Screen Plasma Nitriding Method, J. Nano Res., 2010, 11, p 79–84
B. Subramanian, K. Ashok, and M. Jayachandran, Effect of Substrate Temperature on the Structural Properties of Magnetron Sputtered Titanium Nitride Thin Films with Brush Plated Nickel Interlayer on Mild Steel, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2008, 255, p 2133–2138
A.-H.A. Hussein, M.T. Abdu, E.-S.M. El-Banna, S.E. Soliman, and M.M. Tash, Erratum to: Interrelation of Steel Composition, Hardening Route, and Tempering Response of Medium Carbon Low-Alloy Steels, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2016, 25, p 5125
L. Xiao, D. Yan, J. He, L. Zhu, Y. Dong, J. Zhang, and X. Li, Nanostructured TiN Coating Prepared by Reactive Plasma Spraying in Atmosphere, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2007, 253, p 7535–7539
S.-T. Myung, M. Kumagai, R. Asaishi, Y.-K. Sun, and H. Yashiro, Nanoparticle TiN-Coated Type 310S Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell, Electrochem. Commun., 2008, 10, p 480–484
L. Chenglong, Y. Dazhi, L. Guoqiang, and Q. Min, Corrosion Resistance and Hemocompatibility of Multilayered Ti/TiN-Coated Surgical AISI, 316L Stainless Steel, Mater. Lett., 2005, 59, p 3813–3819
F. Qi, Y.X. Leng, N. Huang, B. Bai, and P.C. Zhang, Surface Modification of 17-4PH Stainless Steel by DC Plasma Nitriding and Titanium Nitride Film Duplex Treatment, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. B, 2007, 257, p 416–419
A.S. More, W. Jiang, W.D. Brown, and A.P. Malshe, Tool Wear and Machining Performance of cBN–TiN Coated Carbide Inserts and PCBN Compact Inserts in Turning AISI, 4340 Hardened Steel, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2006, 180, p 253–262
F.F. Xia, C. Liu, F. Wang, M.H. Wu, J.D. Wang, H.L. Fu, and J.X. Wang, Preparation and Characterization of Nano Ni–TiN Coatings Deposited by Ultrasonic Electrodeposition, J. Alloy. Compd., 2010, 490, p 431–435
J. Gerth and U. Wiklund, The Influence of Metallic Interlayers on the Adhesion of PVD TiN Coatings on High-Speed Steel, Wear, 2008, 264, p 885–892
K. Manigandan, T.S. Srivatsan, V.K. Vasudevan, D. Tammana, and B. Poorganji, Erratum to: Influence of Cyclic Straining on Fatigue, Deformation, and Fracture Behavior of High-Strength Alloy Steel, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2016, 25, p 151
Y.H. Yoo, D.P. Le, J.G. Kim, S.K. Kim, and P. Van Vinh, Corrosion Behavior of TiN, TiAlN, TiAlSiN Thin Films Deposited on Tool Steel in the 3.5 wt% NaCl Solution, Thin Solid Films, 2008, 516, p 3544–3548
V. Malau and S. Subagyo, Effects of Heat Treatment and Titanium Nitride (TiN) Coating Deposited by Sputtering Technique PVD on Duylos 2510 Tool Steel Substrate, Trans Tech Publications, Zurich, 2014, p 666–671
B. Podgornik, J. Vižintin, O. Wänstrand, M. Larsson, S. Hogmark, H. Ronkainen, and K. Holmberg, Tribological Properties of Plasma Nitrided and Hard Coated AISI, 4140 Steel, Wear, 2001, 249, p 254–259
I. Efeoglu and A. Celik, Mechanical and Structural Properties of AISI, 8620 Steel TiN Coated, Nitrided and TiN Coated + Nitrided, Mater. Charact., 2001, 46, p 311–316
J. Batista, M. Joseph, C. Godoy, and A. Matthews, Micro-Abrasion Wear Testing of PVD TiN Coatings on Untreated and Plasma Nitrided AISI, H13 Steel, Wear, 2001, 249, p 971–979
F.M. El-Hossary, N.Z. Negm, A.M.A. El-Rahman, M. Hammad, and C. Templier, Duplex Treatment of AISI, 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel Using rf Nitriding and dc Reactive Magnetron Sputtering of Titanium, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2008, 202, p 1392–1400
M. Stoiber, J. Wagner, C. Mitterer, K. Gammer, H. Hutter, C. Lugmair, and R. Kullmer, Plasma-Assisted Pre-treatment for PACVD TiN Coatings on Tool Steel, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2003, 174, p 687–693
Y. Zhang, Z. Chen, L. Wang, W. Wu, and D. Fang, Effect of Heat Treatment at 1300 °C on W Coating Prepared by Double-Glow Plasma on Carbon/Carbon Composite, J. Coat. Technol. Res., 2008, 6, p 237
R. De Sousa, F. De Araújo, L. Gontijo, J. da Costa, and C. Alves, Cathodic Cage Plasma Nitriding (CCPN) of Austenitic Stainless Steel (AISI, 316): Influence of the Different Ratios of the (N2/H2) on the Nitrided Layers Properties, Vacuum, 2012, 86, p 2048–2053
M. Naeem, J. Iqbal, M. Abrar, K.H. Khan, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, C.M. Lopez-Badillo, M. Shafiq, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, and M. Zakaullah, The Effect of Argon Admixing on Nitriding of Plain Carbon Steel in N2 and N2-H2 Plasma, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2018, 350, p 48–56
U. Rehman, M. Shafiq, M. Naeem, H.A. Raza, M. Saleem, and M. Sharif, Enhanced Surface Properties of AISI-304 Using Bi-step Cathodic Cage Plasma Processing, Vacuum, 2018, 151, p 243–246
A. Saeed, A. Khan, F. Jan, M. Abrar, M. Khalid, and M. Zakaullah, Validity of “Sputtering and Re-condensation” Model in Active Screen Cage Plasma Nitriding Process, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2013, 273, p 173–178
K. Lin, X. Li, L. Tian, and H. Dong, Active Screen Plasma Surface Co-alloying of 316 Austenitic Stainless Steel with Both Nitrogen and Niobium for the Application of Bipolar Plates in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2015, 40, p 10281–10292
Y. Dong, X. Li, T. Bell, R. Sammons, and H. Dong, Surface Microstructure and Antibacterial Property of an Active-Screen Plasma Alloyed Austenitic Stainless Steel Surface with Cu and N, Biomed. Mater., 2010, 5, p 054105
Y. Dong, X. Li, R. Sammons, and H. Dong, The Generation of Wear-Resistant Antimicrobial Stainless Steel Surfaces by Active Screen Plasma Alloying with N and Nanocrystalline Ag, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater., 2010, 93, p 185–193
Y. Dong, X. Li, L. Tian, T. Bell, R.L. Sammons, and H. Dong, Towards Long-Lasting Antibacterial Stainless Steel Surfaces by Combining Double Glow Plasma Silvering with Active Screen Plasma Nitriding, Acta Biomater., 2011, 7, p 447–457
K. Lin, X. Li, L. Tian, and H. Dong, Active Screen Plasma Surface Co-alloying Treatments of 316 Stainless Steel with Nitrogen and Silver for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2015, 283, p 122–128
M. Naeem, M. Shafiq, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, M.I. Bashir, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, C.M. Lopez-Badillo, and M. Zakaullah, Novel Duplex Cathodic Cage Plasma Nitriding of Non-alloyed Steel Using Aluminum and Austenite Steel Cathodic Cages, J. Alloy. Compd., 2017, 721, p 307–311
M. Naeem, M. Shafiq, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, C.M. Lopez-Badillo, N. Ullah, and M. Zakaullah, Improved Surface Properties of AISI-304 by Novel Duplex Cathodic Cage Plasma Nitriding, Mater. Lett., 2017, 189, p 213–216
M.I. Bashir, M. Shafiq, M. Naeem, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, C.M. Lopez-Badillo, and M. Zakaullah, Enhanced Surface Properties of Aluminum by PVD-TiN Coating Combined with Cathodic Cage Plasma Nitriding, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2017, 327, p 59–65
M. Naeem, M. Shafiq, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, A. Ashiq, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, M. Shahzad, and M. Zakaullah, Enhanced Surface Properties of Plain Carbon Steel Using Plasma Nitriding with Austenitic Steel Cathodic Cage, Mater. Des., 2016, 108, p 745–753
M. Naeem, M. Shafiq, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, N. Nawaz, J.C. Díaz-Guillén, and M. Zakaullah, Effect of Cathodic Cage Size on Plasma Nitriding of AISI, 304 Steel, Mater. Lett., 2016, 181, p 78–81
M. Naeem, M. Zaka-ul-Islam, M. Shafiq, M. Bashir, J. Díaz-Guillén, and M. Zakaullah, Influence of Cathodic Cage Diameter on Mechanical Properties of Plasma Nitrided AISI, 304 steel, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2017, 309, p 738–748
W.J. Chou, G.P. Yu, and J.H. Huang, Mechanical Properties of TiN Thin Film Coatings on 304 Stainless Steel Substrates, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2002, 149, p 7–13
P. Panjan, M. Čekada, M. Panjan, and D. Kek-Merl, Growth Defects in PVD hard Coatings, Vacuum, 2009, 84, p 209–214
G.I. Grigorov, K.G. Grigorov, M. Stojanova, J.L. Vignes, J.P. Langeron, P. Denjean, and L. Ranno, Iron Diffusion from Pure Fe Substrate into TiN Buffer Layers, Physica C, 1995, 241, p 397–400
M. Divakar, V.K. Agarwal, and S.N. Singh, Effect of the Material Surface Hardness on the Erosion of AISI316, Wear, 2005, 259, p 110–117
F. Zhang and M. Yan, Microstructure and Wear Resistance of In Situ Formed Duplex Coating Fabricated by Plasma Nitriding Ti Coated 2024 Al Alloy, J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2014, 30, p 1278–1283
G.B. Both, A.S. Rocha, G.R. Santos, and T.K. Hirsch, An Investigation on the Suitability of Different Surface Treatments Applied to a DIN X100CrMoV8-1-1 for Cold Forming Applications, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2014, 244, p 142–150
H. Dogan, F. Findik, and A. Oztarhan, Comparative Study of Wear Mechanism of Surface Treated AISI, 316L Stainless Steel, Ind. Lubr. Tribol., 2003, 55, p 76–83
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support from the University Research Fund (URF) 2016-2017 at the Plasma Physics Laboratory, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raza, H.A., Shafiq, M., Naeem, M. et al. Cathodic Cage Plasma Pre-treatment of TiN-Coated AISI-304 Stainless Steel for Enhancement of Mechanical Strength and Wear Resistance. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 28, 20–32 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-018-3780-1
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-018-3780-1