Active Screen Plasma Nitriding Efficiency and Ecology

Abstract:

Plasma nitriding has significant advantages: very low running costs (reduced consumption of energy and gases); optimized structure and layers; and nitriding of stainless steels. Plasma nitriding is totally safe and has no poisonous gas emissions and no negative environmental impact. However, conventional plasma nitriding has a number of well-known difficulties, including the direct application of plasma on the parts to be treated, the risk of arcing, hollow cathodes, white layers, non-homogenous batch temperature and the impossibility to mix parts of different geometries in the chamber made this technology to be almost forgotten. In the last years, due to the ecofriendly character of the technology, several atempts were made in order to establish an improvement in this technique in terms of batch damages. Active screen plasma nitriding technology is a new industrial solution that enjoys all the advantages of traditional plasma nitriding but does not have its inconveniences. A comparative study regarding quality surface and formed layer properties between conventional plasma nitriding and active screen plasma nitriding was conducted, in order to highlight the advantages that comes with this relatively new technique.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 657)
• Pages: 369-373
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.657.369
• Online since: October 2014
• Authors: Cătălin Andrei Țugui, Mihai Axinte*, Carmen Nejneru, Petrică Vizureanu, Manuela Cristina Perju, Daniela Lucia Chicet
• Keywords: Active Screen Plasma Nitriding, Energy, Microstructure, Sputtering

References

[1] M. Axinte, M.C. Perju, C. Nejneru, I. Hopulele, I. Cimpoeşu, Quality surface analysis for polarized grid plasma nitriding, The Annals of Dunărea de jos, University of Galaţi, Fascicle IX Metallurgy and Materials Science. 1 (2012) 33-38.

[2] C.G. Santiago, D. Hanshan, On the fundamental mechanisms of active screen plasma nitriding, Vacuum. 84 (2010) 321–325.

[3] K.J.B. Ribeiro, R.R.M. de Sousa, F.O. de Araujo, R.A. de Brito, J.C.P. Barbosa, C. Alves Jr., Industrial application of AISI 4340 steels treateated in cathodic cage plasma nitriding technique, Materials Science and Engineering. A 479 (2008).

DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2007.06.033

[4] C. Alves Jr, F.O. de Araújo, K.J.B. Ribeiro, J.A.P. da Costa, R.R.M. de Sousa, R.S. de Sousa, Use of cathodic cage in plasma nitriding, Surface & Coatings Technology. 201 (2006) 2450–2454.

DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2006.04.014

[5] P. Collignon, J. Georges, C. Kunz, Active Screen Plasma Nitriding - An Efficient, New Plasma Nitriding Technology, available at http: /www. industrialheating. com/articles, accessed at 12. 02. (2014).

[6] M. Axinte, Researches on improving properties of thin films obtained by ion nitriding, using a polarized screen, PhD Thesis, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University from Iaşi, (2012).