Influence of Time and Temperature of Plasma Nitriding on the Wear Resistance of Ni–Cr–Mo‐Based Films Deposited by AISI 904L Cathodic Cage on SAE 6160 Steel

This work aims to evaluate the effects on surface hardness and wear resistance of plasma nitriding treatment on SAE 6160 steel that exhibits cathodic cage deposition of AISI 904L, with high nickel content and medium chromium content, varying the treatment time and temperature. The deposition temperature is 450 °C, and after deposition, the samples are nitrided at 450 and 500 °C for 2 and 4 h. All samples are characterized by X‐Ray diffraction, Vickers microhardness, optical microscopy, and wear resistance. The results show that for longer nitriding times and temperatures, there is the formation of the S phase, expanded austenite, and the precipitation of CrN, resulting in lower wear resistance among the nitrided samples, but considering that the resistance of all samples is higher to AISI 6160 samples. All samples show high surface hardness and a diffusion layer between 69 and 170 μm; the only deposited sample shows good resistance to wear due to the deposition efficiency of films based on Ni–Cr–Mo. Herein, double plasma treatment in AISI 6160 with deposition in an AISI 904L cathodic cage and nitriding at 450 and 500 °C for 2 and 4 h is presented. There is the formation of the S phase and the precipitation of CrN, resulting in lower wear resistance among the nitrided samples but with a considerable increase in the resistance of all treated samples.