Surface degradation of nitrided hot work tool steels under repeated impact-sliding contacts: Effect of compound layer

Wear behaviour of quenched and tempered (QT) hot work tool steels (Uddeholm QRO90) was investigated against SAE 52100 grade bearing steel balls after gas nitriding using a dedicated laboratory scale impact-sliding wear test rig. Gas nitriding was employed in a fluidised bed reactor under two alternative regimes: i. “High Temperature Nitriding (HTN)” carried out at 510 °C and ii. “Low Temperature Nitriding (LTN)” carried out at ≤ 400 °C. The HTN process resulted in the formation of ∼2 μm thick external compound layer, whereas the LTN processed steels were free of any surface compound layer formation. After the impact-sliding wear tests employed at room temperature (RT), the prevailing wear mechanisms of the examined steels were assessed as tribo-oxidation and fatigue wear. The testing at 600 °C induced different wear mechanisms for the HTN and the LTN steels. While tribo-oxidation and fatigue wear were preserved for the HTN steel, plastic deformation dominated the wear that progressed on the compound layer free surface of the LTN steel. Impact-sliding wear testing at 600 °C showed that the wear rate of LTN > HTN steels, as opposed to the wear rate at RT where wear rate of HTN > LTN. •Impact-sliding wear tests conducted on nitrided hot work tool steels.•Compound layer free steel exhibits comparatively high wear resistance at RT.•2 μm thick exterior compound layer provides higher wear resistance at 600 °C.