Examination of Simultaneous Processing of Diffusion Bonding and Nitriding between Carbon Steel and Titanium Foil

The purpose of this study is the development of simultaneous processing of diffusion bonding and surface nitriding. Carbon steel was used as the base material. The surface was nitrided to a 20-μm-thick titanium foil. The sample was arranged in the order of carbon steel, titanium foil, and Al2O3 powder (diameter=1 μm) and placed in N2 gas in a furnace to undergo simultaneous diffusion bonding and surface nitriding. These processes were carried out at a processing temperature T of 1100~1250 K and processing pressure P of 0.5 MPa (processing time=4.8 ks). Because no defect was observed in the bonded interface, it was confirmed that a sufficiently suitable joint can be obtained under these processing conditions. The surface hardness was observed to increase with the increase in processing temperature; it reached approximately HV1600 at 1250 K. The surface of the titanium foil, which had been simultaneously processed at 1250 K, consisted of a single phase of TiN. The results of the ball-on-disc-type wear test revealed that the surface, which had been processed at 1250 K, was hardly worn by the TiN layer.