Wear 269 (2010) 466–472

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Wear
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wear

Wear mechanisms and microstructure of pulsed plasma nitrided AISI H13 tool
steel
M.V. Leite a , C.A. Figueroa b,e,∗ , S. Corujeira Gallo e , A.C. Rovani b , R.L.O. Basso b ,
P.R. Mei d , I.J.R. Baumvol b,c , A. Sinatora a
a
Laboratório de Fenômenos de Superfície da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
b
Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil
c
Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
d
Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais da Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
e
Plasmar Tecnologia Ltda., 95076-420, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: AISI H13 tool steel discs were pulsed plasma nitrided during different times at a constant temperature
Received 26 September 2009 of 400 ◦ C. Wear tests were performed in order to study the acting wear mechanisms. The samples were
Received in revised form 27 April 2010 characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and hardness measurements. The results
Accepted 30 April 2010
showed that longer nitriding times reduce the wear volumes. The friction coefficient was 0.20 ± 0.05 for all
Available online 8 May 2010
tested conditions and depends strongly on the presence of debris. After wear tests, the wear tracks were
characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy and the wear mechanisms were observed
Keywords:
to change from low cycle fatigue or plastic shakedown to long cycle fatigue. These mechanisms were
Sliding wear
Diffusion treatments
correlated to the microstructure and hardness of the nitrided layer.
Sliding friction © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction tain the nano and microstructure on surface and bulk of metallic
carbides obtained by the previous heat treatment [7]. Moreover,
Plasma nitriding is an established technology for surface mod- thinner nitrided layers are specified for duplex processes such as
ification of metal alloys [1]. When compared to conventional gas in aluminum injection molds. It is important to remark that lower
and liquid nitriding, plasma nitriding represents a more versatile temperatures are easily achieved in plasma nitriding keeping a high
technique due to the optimized metallurgical control of the struc- nitrogen chemical potential even at 360 ◦ C [8].
ture and crystalline phases which constitute the nitrided layer [2,3]. The friction and wear behaviors of plasma nitrided AISI H13
Generally, these treatments improve the surface mechanical prop- may be analyzed in the lights of the in-depth structure and phases
erties of the material such as hardness, wear resistance, fatigue, obtained after treatment. On one hand, a compound-free diffu-
friction [4]. sion layer has a relatively low hardness with a good toughness
AISI H13 tool steel is an important ferrous alloy for forging and and supports a high dynamical force [9]. On the other hand, the
aluminum injection. Usually, thermo-chemical surface treatments compound layer presents a relatively high hardness where the
such as plasma nitriding are applied in order to increase the life- ␧-Fe2–3 N phase is brittle [10]. Taking into account the sliding
time of tools and dies [5]. From a structural point of view and wear, many mechanisms operate at the same time such as adhe-
in the case of AISI H13 pulsed plasma nitriding, the iron nitride sive wear, plastic deformation and delamination, abrasive wear
phases are similar to those existing in plain carbon steels. How- by debris dissemination, long cycle fatigue crack formation and
ever, the alloy elements precipitates, such as chromium, vanadium oxidative wear. Previous works have shown that the wear rate
and molybdenum nitrides contribute to the hardening of the mate- depends on hardness, toughness and thickness of the nitrided
rial at temperatures higher than 450 ◦ C [6]. On the contrary, plasma layer [11,12]. However, all works about wear behavior of plasma
nitriding treatments at low temperatures (400 ◦ C) allow to main- nitrided AISI H13 were performed at temperatures higher than
500 ◦ C.
In this work, we investigate the friction and wear mechanisms
of AISI H13 tool steel pulsed plasma nitrided during several dif-
∗ Corresponding author at: Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade
ferent times at low temperature (400 ◦ C). The microstructure and
de Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil. Tel.: +55 54 3218 2764;
fax: +55 54 3218 2253. morphology of the nitrided layer were characterized by different
E-mail address: cafi[email protected] (C.A. Figueroa). methods, aiming at correlating the tribological properties with the

0043-1648/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wear.2010.04.037
 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472 467

Fig. 1. (a) Sketch of the sample geometry (length and diameters in mm). (b) Sketch of a running wear test. The felt polishing wheel (cleaning device) is also shown.

nitrided layer thickness and crystalline structure as well as the samples with Nital 2% (2% (v/v) nitric acid in absolute ethanol). The
hardness profile. cross-section morphology and the thickness of the nitrided layers
were analyzed using a Shimadzu SSX-550 scanning electron micro-
scope equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The
2. Experimental procedure phases were established by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) using
a Shimadzu diffractometer (XRD-6000). The X-ray diffractograms
Commercial AISI H13 tool steel samples of composition 90.6Fe, were obtained at room temperature using a copper tube source
0.5C, 0.4Mn, 1.0Si, 5.1Cr, 1.4Mo, 0.9V (wt.%) were used for the in the Bragg-Brentano geometry with monochromatized radiation
experiments. The samples were quenched from 1030 ◦ C and dou- (Cu K␣,  = 0.15418 nm), scanning steps of 0.02◦ and 5 s counting
ble tempered at 580 ◦ C for 2 h each cycle. This material tempering step time between 30◦ and 80◦ (2). The hardness measurements
temperature guarantees no phase structure changes at working were performed in a Fischerscope HM2000 XYp.
temperatures below 510 ◦ C. The bulk hardness after heat treat-
ment was 570 ± 6 HV0.1 . The sample geometry is shown in Fig. 1a.
3. Results
Before pulsed plasma nitriding, the samples were mirror polished
with diamond abrasive powder (1 ␮m) and ultrasonically cleaned
3.1. Wear behavior
in alcohol. The processes were performed in a commercial hot-
wall fully automatic pulsed plasma nitriding system, 120 A/1000 V
The wear behavior was investigated by measuring the mass
of maximum capacity. The plasma was generated by a pulsed dc
loss and by observing the morphology of the wear track (material
power supply operating at 7.1 A and 380 V with a duty cycle of
damage). On one hand, the maximum mass loss, 2.2 ± 0.5 mg (the
0.25 (pulse on: 50 ␮s and pulse off: 150 ␮s) for all samples. Dur-
other measurements were near the equipment detection limit),
ing the process, an 80% H2 –20% N2 gas mixture was used at 400 Pa
indicates that the wear mechanisms act, basically, by damaging
fixed total pressure. Before nitriding and during the heating up to
instead of by material loss. On the other hand, the morphol-
treatment temperature, the samples were ion bombarded for 4 h in
plasma constituted by 80% Ar–20% H2 , for cleaning purposes. The
studied samples were treated at process times from 4 to 36 h and
constant temperature of 400 ◦ C. After the treatment, the samples
were cooled down slowly (∼6 h) inside the vacuum chamber.
The sliding wear tests were performed in a ball-on-disc machine
Plint (model TE67). The sliding conditions are summarized in
Fig. 1b. The nitrided sample (disc) turned in anti-clockwise motion
at 40 rpm in contact with a Si3 N4 ball (diameter = 7.14 mm) under a
normal force of 800 N, produce a contact stress of 3.45 GPa. The slid-
ing was performed during 8 h and the sliding distance was 1440 m
at a rate of 0.05 m s−1 . Every 1 h of sliding, the mass was measured
and a topographic profile of the wear track region was taken (pro-
filometer Kosaka® , model 1700␣). The wear tests were performed
at a temperature of 25 ± 5 ◦ C and a relative humidity of 50 ± 10%.
In order to remove debris from the wear track, a cleaning device
was mounted. This system is a felt polishing wheel that rotates at
2000 rpm.
The treated samples were sliced and mounted in bakelite and
mirror polished (0.05 ␮m) with colloidal silica suspension. The
nitride layers were revealed, at room temperature, by etching the Fig. 2. Typical topographic profile of the wear track after sliding wear tests.
468 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472

Fig. 5. Oscillatory behavior of the friction coefficient under the action of the cleaning
device.

Fig. 3. Volume removed by wear versus the sliding distance for different nitriding 540 m for 16 h). After these points, the wear condition changes to
times. The dashed lines are only guide lines. a steady state regime. Moreover, the plateaus observed in Fig. 4,
where the pile-up volume formation stops, indicate that only long
ogy of the wear track introduces new evidences about the wear cycle fatigue wear acts on samples nitrided for 16 and 36 h after
behavior. 540 and 360 m of sliding distance, respectively.
Fig. 2 shows a typical topographic profile of a wear track in
our samples. It can be seen that the material is damaged by the 3.2. Friction behavior
formation of a valley (plowing) between two peaks (pile-up). By
analyzing all topographic profiles (wear tracks), we could deter- The measured friction coefficient defined as  = F/W, where F is
mine the removed volume from the original surface (plowing), the tangential force to move the upper body over the stationary
defined as AV , and the pile-up volume (dislocated material), defined counterface and W is the normal load, was 0.20 ± 0.05. This value
as A1 and A2 (see Fig. 2 for AV , A1 , and A2 appearing on a typical wear depends strongly on the surface cleaning state (tribological film). In
track). order to study this behavior, a cleaning device was switched on and
Fig. 3 shows the removed volume as a function of the sliding off periodically during the wear tests. Fig. 5 shows the oscillatory
distance for different nitriding times. One can see that the removed change of the friction coefficient as a function of the sliding time for
volume increases as a function of the sliding distance for all treat- the samples treated during 9 h. One can see that when the cleaning
ment conditions, whereas this trend decreases with the nitriding device is switched on or off, the friction coefficient impasses by a
time. Fig. 4 shows material pile-up at the edges of the wear groove maximum or by a minimum, respectively. It is important to remark
as a function of the sliding distance at different nitriding times. that the same behavior is observed in all samples.
Here, while the pile-up volume increases as a function of the slid-
ing distance for the first two nitriding times (4 and 9 h), the last 3.3. Structural and morphological aspects before tribological tests
two treatment conditions (16 and 36 h) show a plateau for longer
sliding distances. Fig. 6a–d shows the microstructure of plasma nitrided layers for
By looking at Figs. 3 and 4, it is straightforward to determine 4, 16, and 36 h, in cross-section as observed by SEM before tribo-
the running-in regime due to the volume gap, defined as a sud- logical tests, and the crystalline structure for 9 h, respectively. One
den increment of the removed and pile-up volumes, from zero can see that the nitrided layer contains fine iron nitrides inside
to 180 m of sliding distance in most of cases (360 m for 36 h and grains and at grain boundaries. In both processing times, it is not
possible to distinguish a compact compound layer from a prin-
cipal diffusion layer plus needle-like iron nitrides arising in the
nitrided layer (see Fig. 6a and c). Fig. 7 shows that the nitrided layer
thickness follows a distorted parabolic growth law as a function
of nitriding time. The nitrided layer thicknesses were taken from
both SEM images and hardness profiles. At relatively low nitriding
temperatures the most important diffusion mechanism is by grain
boundary. Consequently, all nitrided layer thicknesses are shifted
to higher values. This mechanism is the fastest way for nitrogen
diffusion in our experimental treatment conditions. Table 1 shows
a summary of crystalline phases and nitrided layer thickness for
different nitriding times (T = 400 ◦ C).
Fig. 8 shows the hardness behavior as a function of depth, for dif-
ferent nitriding times. It is seen that higher nitriding times increase
the hardness, both in depth and near the surface. Some discrep-
ancies between nitrided layer thicknesses taken from SEM and
hardness profiles are due to low accuracy in direct observation of
SEM images where the nitrided layer thickness is generally under-
estimated. In the case of nitrided layer thickness from hardness
Fig. 4. Pile-up volume versus the sliding distance for different nitriding times. The profiles, the effective case depth was determined by considering
dashed lines are only guide lines. the hardness value above 10% of core hardness.
 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472 469

Fig. 6. Scanning electron microscopy cross-section images of the nitrided layer for three different nitriding times: 9 h (a), 16 h (b), and 36 h (c). X-ray diffractograms of
untreated and 4 h treated samples (d).

Fig. 7. Nitrided layer thicknesses taken from SEM and hardness profiles versus Fig. 8. Hardness profile for different nitriding times at a constant nitriding temper-
nitriding time at a constant nitriding temperature of 400 ◦ C. The dashed lines are ature of 400 ◦ C. The dashed lines are only guide lines.
only guide lines.

4. Discussion: wear versus microstructure ing and 64% microcutting at the lowest nitriding time and even
toward 80% microcutting at the highest nitriding time.
Table 2 shows an important analysis tool, the cutting efficiency Fig. 9 shows optical (a, c, e, g on surface) and scanning electron (b,
parameter Fab = [AV − (A1 + A2 )]/AV . According to this parameter, in d, f, h in cross-section) microscopy images of the wear track at dif-
ideal cutting there is no pile-up volume and in ideal plowing the ferent treatment times. The material only quenched and tempered
whole material is dislocated to the pile-up volume. Fab increases shows a classical metallic behavior under a normal pressure where
monotonously here from lower to higher nitriding times (see plastic deformation moves dislocations and refines grain (see the
Table 2). Consequently, the wear is governed by 36% microplow- wear track on the left side of Fig. 9b). Consequently, microcutting in
470 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472

Table 1
Summary of crystalline phases and nitrided layer thickness obtained as a function of nitriding time.

Nitriding time (h) Phases up to 5 ␮m Nitrided layer thickness (␮m) (from SEM) Nitrided layer thickness (␮m) (from hardness)

4 +␧-Fe2–3 N, −␣-Fe(N) 36 54
9 +␧-Fe2–3 N, −␥ -Fe4 N 44 62
16 +␧-Fe2–3 N, −␥ -Fe4 N 50 72
36 +␧-Fe2–3 N, −␥ -Fe4 N 67 106

Fig. 9. Morphology of the worn surfaces for different nitriding times. On surface and in cross-section images were obtained by optical (left) and scanning (right) electron
microscopy, respectively: (a and b) quenched and tempered, (c and d) 4 h, (e and f) 9 h, and (g and h) 36 h.
 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472 471

Table 2
The cutting efficiency parameter (Fab ) calculated at different nitriding times and sliding distances. The quenched and tempered (Q&T) sample is also included.

Fab 180 m 360 m 540 m 720 m 900 m 1080 m 1260 m 1440 m Mean value

4h 0.60 0.68 0.65 0.65 0.66 0.64 0.59 0.61 0.64

9h 0.67 0.65 0.73 0.65 0.61 0.67 0.69 0.66 0.67
16 h 0.69 0.66 0.59 0.67 0.64 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.68
36 h 0.80 0.70 0.75 0.75 0.77 0.83 0.83 0.79 0.78
Q&T 0.55 0.55 0.55

The created debris by microcutting and spalling are the particles

that control the changes in the friction coefficient [15]. Although,
previous works [16] have shown that nitrided materials reduce
the friction coefficient, in our experiments, the friction coefficients
may rise up to approximately 1.4 without any cleaning. Moreover,
high friction coefficients have already been reported for nitrided
materials in similar sliding conditions [17].
For samples nitrided for 16 and 36 h, the running-in regime is
also by abrasion. Similar to shorter nitriding times, the removal
takes place by microcutting and microplowing. However, the cut-
ting efficiency increases up to 80%, indicating mainly a microcutting
mechanism instead of microplowing. In the steady state regime, the
type of wear is dominated by long cycle fatigue and brittle fracture
propagation. The arc-shaped fractures and spalling (see Fig. 9e) are
in agreement with brittle fracture. It is important to remark that
arc-shaped fractures depend strongly on the nitrided layer thick-
ness. Thinner and intermediate nitrided layer thicknesses induce
transversal cracks which are responsible to generate arc-shaped
Fig. 10. Wear coefficients for all treatment conditions.
fractures due to a sudden decrease in the hardness profile (see
Fig. 9d and f). Thicker nitrided layers significantly reduce the num-
ber of cracks, which become perpendicular to the surface avoiding
the sliding direction is observed (see Fig. 9a). The material nitrided the formation of arc-shaped fractures (see Fig. 9h). Despite brittle
during 4 h shows microcutting, arc-shaped fractures, and delami- fracture mechanisms acting on material removal, the hardness pro-
nation on the surface (see Fig. 9c) and parallel and transversal (up file controls the removed volume and longer nitriding times (i.e.,
to 45◦ ) cracks in the cross-section (see Fig. 9d). For higher nitriding thicker and harder nitrided layers) decrease the removed volume.
times (9 h), besides microcutting and arc-shaped fractures on the The same behavior is observed in several nitrided steels where a
surface (see Fig. 9e), transversal cracks between 45◦ and 90◦ are hard ceramic layer, or in other words a compound layer based on
observed in the cross-section (see Fig. 9f). For the longest nitrid- ␥-Fe4 N and ␧-Fe2–3 N decreases the material removal even by the
ing time (36 h), longer cracks perpendicular to the surface (90◦ ) action of brittle fracture mechanisms [18,19]. In fact, iron nitrides
appear in the cross-section (see Fig. 9h), leading to fewer but larger like ␥-Fe4 N and ␧-Fe2–3 N are interstitial compounds that have an
delaminated areas observed on the surface (see Fig. 9g). important ceramic characteristic with high hardness and brittle
In the steady state regime, the removed volume shows quite behavior (brittle fracture) [20].
a linear behavior as a function of the sliding distance. Taking into
account that there are two types of wear operating, i.e., low cycle
fatigue wear or plastic shakedown (4 and 9 h of nitriding time) and 5. Conclusions
long cycle fatigue wear (16 and 36 h), the obtained global linear
relationship is not a coincidence since each one follows a linear AISI H13 hot tool steel samples were pulsed plasma nitrided for
behavior between mass loss, hardness and layer thickness [13]. different treatment times at a constant temperature. After that, the
In order to quantify the wear resistance, the dimensional wear treated samples were characterized by tribological tests such as
coefficient (k) is usually used. This coefficient represents the vol- sliding wear and friction and physicochemical tests such as XRD,
ume of removed material in mm3 per sliding distance in m and SEM, and mechanical indentations.
normal load in N [5]. Fig. 10 shows the dimensional wear coeffi-
cient for different nitriding times. According to the bibliography, (1) The sliding wear tests indicate the action of different wear
for sliding values with cyclic loading, a k value between 10−6 and mechanisms such as delamination, abrasive wear and long cycle
10−5 represents mild wear [5]. When compared to sliding wear in fatigue wear. The running-in and steady state regimes are iden-
nitrided AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel, our k values are appre- tified for all wear tests. For samples nitrided for 4 and 9 h, plastic
ciably lower [14]. Therefore and in our system, the value of the shakedown and delamination occur respectively, while abra-
coefficient k does not represent the severity of wear. sive wear acts in both regimes. For samples nitrided for 16 and
By analyzing the removed and pile-up volumes, as well as the 36 h, the running-in regime is controlled by abrasive wear and
microstructure and hardness profiles, one can identify two different the steady state regime by long cycle fatigue wear. The wear
behaviors. For samples nitrided for 4 and 9 h, the running-in regime mechanisms can be correlated to the structural properties.
is essentially by abrasion (due to debris) and plastic deformation. (2) The friction coefficient is 0.20 ± 0.05 for all tested conditions
The material is removed from the wear track by microcutting and and depends strongly on the presence of debris (tribological
microplowing, with a cutting efficiency of 50%. In the steady state film).
regime, although the abrasive wear still operates, the removed and (3) The nitrided layer thickness follows a distorted parabolic
pile-up volumes decrease and the action of plastic deformation and growth law due to the role of nitrogen grain boundary diffusion
delamination become important. at low temperatures. The nitrided layer is formed, basically, by
472 M.V. Leite et al. / Wear 269 (2010) 466–472

␧-Fe2–3 N. The higher the hardness (on surface and in depth) the [6] L.F. Zagonel, C.A. Figueroa, R. Droppa Jr., F. Alvarez, Influence of the process tem-
lower the removed material volume. perature on the steel microstructure and hardening in pulsed plasma nitriding,
Surf. Coat. Technol. 201 (2006) 452–457.
(4) The incorporation of nitrogen transforms metallic-like wear [7] L.F. Zagonel, R.L.O. Basso, F. Alvarez, Precipitates temperature dependence
mechanism (plastic deformation for pile-up volume forma- in ion beam nitrided AISI H13 tool steel, Plasma Process. Polym. 4 (2007)
tion) in ceramic-like wear mechanism (arc-shaped fracture and S736–S740.
[8] E.A. Ochoa, C.A. Figueroa, Influence of the microstructure on steel hardening in
spalling) due to the ceramic characteristic of ␧-Fe2–3 N. pulsed plasma nitriding, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 26 (2008) 328–332.
[9] L. Demchenko, S. Sidorenko, V. Tinyaev, The effect of deformation on structure
Acknowledgements and properties of surface diffusion layers formed in iron alloys under alloying
by nitrogen and carbon, Diffus. Segreg. Stresses Mater. 216 (2) (2002) 87–92.
[10] Z. Jin, Examination of plasma nitriding microstructure with addition of rare
This work was partially sponsored by CNPq, projects # earths, J. Rare Earths 22 (2004) 272–276.
142812/2006-4, # 550316/2007-8, and # 573628/2008-4 (INCT). [11] G. Castro, A. Fernández-Vicente, J. Cid, Influence of the nitriding time in the
wear behaviour of an AISI H13 steel during a crankshaft forging process, Wear
The authors are indebted to F. Alvarez for helping with sample 263 (2007) 1375–1385.
preparation at LIITS-IFGW-UNICMP (Campinas, SP, Brazil). AS, CAF, [12] M.B. Karamiş, An investigation of the properties and wear behaviour of plasma-
IJRB, and PRM are CNPq fellows. nitrided hot-working steel (H13), Wear 150 (1991) 331–342.
[13] J.F. Archard, Contact and rubbing of flat surfaces, Appl. Phys. 24 (1953) 981–
988.
References [14] P. Corengia, F. Walther, G. Ybarra, S. Sommadossi, R. Corbari, E. Broitman, Fric-
tion and rolling-sliding wear of DC-pulsed plasma nitrided AISI 410 martensitic
[1] E.A. Ochoa, D. Wisnivesky, I. Minea, M. Ganciu, C. Tauziede, P. Chapon, F. Alvarez, stainless steel, Wear 260 (2006) 479–485.
Microstructure and properties of the compound layer obtained by pulsed [15] D.H. Hwang, D.E. Kim, S.J. Lee, Influence of wear particle interaction in the
plasma nitriding in steel gears, Surf. Coat. Technol. 203 (2009) 1457–1461. sliding interface on friction of metals, Wear 225 (1999) 427–439.
[2] J. Walkowicz, P. Supiot, J. Smolik, M. Grushin, The influence of the N-2-H-2 [16] American Society for Metals, Friction, lubrication and wear technology Metals
mixture composition on the spectroscopic and temporal behaviour of glow dis- Handbook, vol. 18, American Society for Metals, 1992, 942 pp.
charge characteristics in pulse-supplied nitriding processes, Surf. Coat. Technol. [17] S. Karaoğlu, Structural characterization and wear behavior of plasma-nitrided
180 (2004) 407–412. AISI 5140 low-alloy steel, Mater. Charact. 49 (2003) 349–357.
[3] E.A. Ochoa, C.A. Figueroa, F. Alvarez, The influence of the ion current density on [18] K.S. Al-Rubaie, F. Steinmeier, M. Pohl, Two-body abrasion of nitrocarburised
plasma nitriding process, Surf. Coat. Technol. 200 (2005) 2165–2169. steels for hydraulic cylinders, Wear 243 (2000) 112–121.
[4] J. Wang, J. Xiong, Q. Peng, H. Fan, Y. Wang, G. Li, B. Shen, Effects of DC plasma [19] M.B. Karamiş, E. Gerçekcioğlu, Wear behaviour of plasma nitrided steels at
nitriding parameters on microstructure and properties of 304L stainless steel, ambient and elevated temperatures, Wear 243 (2000) 76–84.
Mater. Charact. 60 (2009) 197–203. [20] A. Alsaran, I. Kaymaz, A. Çelik, F. Yetim, M. Karakan, A repair process for fatigue
[5] M. Uma Devi, T.K. Chakraborty, O.N. Mohanty, Wear behaviour of plasma damage using plasma nitriding, Surf. Coat. Technol. 186 (2004) 333–338.
nitrided tool steels, Wear 116–119 (1999) 212–221.