Sliding wear behaviour of steel carburized using Na2CO3-NaCl

Abstract

Experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of carburization process on the sliding wear resistance of mild steel. The carburization process was conducted in carbonate salts mixtures of Na2CO3-NaCl. Carburization followed by water quenching resulted in the formation of martensite with a hardness of 900 HV in the subsurface, up to the depth of 400 μm. This hardness value was substantially higher than the non-carburized steel which had a hardness of 520 HV. In the initial stage of sliding in air, abrasive wear and cluster of fine cavities due to adhesion were formed. This was followed by the formation of large-scale fracture at the cavities. The high hardness of the carburized steel reduced the severity of adhesive wear and thus the tendency of the worn surface to fracture.