This paper reviews the trends in low temperature thermochemical treatments highlighting the contribution made by Professor T. Bell and his many students and colleagues. It comments on the developments and discusses how these will continue to impact in the future.
BellT. and ThomasD. H.: ‘Cyclic stressing of gas nitrocarburised low carbon steel’, Metall. Trans. A, 1979, 10A, 79–84.
8.
ThomasD. H.: PhD thesis, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1979.
9.
MitchellE. and DawesC.: British Patent 1011580, 1961.
10.
DawesC., TranterD. F. and SmithC. G.: ‘Reappraisal of nitrocarburising and nitriding when Applied to the design and manufacture of non-alloy automobile components’, Proc. Conf. Heat Treatment ‘79, Birmingham, UK, May1980, The Metals Society, 60–68.
11.
DawesC., TranterD. F. and SmithC. G.: ‘A re-appraisal of nitrocarburising and nitriding when Applied to the design and manufacture of non-alloy steel automobile components’, J. Heat Treat., 1979, 1, (2), 30–42.
12.
PlumbS. A.: Personal communication, Nitrotec Services (TTI Group Ltd), Birmingham, UK, 2008.
WellsA.: ‘The characterisation of the compound layers formed by ferritic nitrocarburising’, PhD thesis, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1982.
15.
WellsA. and BellT.: ‘Structural control of the compound layers formed during ferritic nitrocarburising in methanol/ammonia atmospheres’, Heat Treat. Met., 1983, 2, 39–44.
16.
HadfieldJ.: ‘An investigation of the layers produced by plasma nitrocarburising’, MSc thesis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, 1986.
17.
EdenhoferB.: ‘The use of continuous furnaces for gaseous nitrocarburising’, Heat Treat. Met., 1984, 4, 83–88.
18.
BellT.: ‘Gaseous and plasma nitrocarburising of steels’, in ‘ASM handbook’, Vol. 4, ‘Heat treating’, 425; 1991, Materials Park, OH, ASM International.
19.
ThelningK. E.: ‘Steel and its heat treatment’; 1978, London, Butterworths.
20.
BirchB.: MSc thesis, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1976.
21.
BellT., BirchB. J., KorotchenkoV. and EvanS. P.: ‘Controlled nitriding in ammonia—hydrogen mixtures’, Proc. Conf. Heat Treatment ‘73, London, UK, May1975, The Metals Society, 51–57.
22.
LightfootB. J. and JackD. H.: Proc. Conf. Heat Treatment ‘73, London, UK, May1973, The Metals Society, 6.
23.
BellT.: ‘Plasma heat-treatment of tooling for the plastics industry’, Plast. Rubber Process., 1976, 1, (4), 161–166.
24.
StainesA. M. and BellT.: ‘Plasma nitriding of high alloy steels’, in ‘Methods and media’; 1978, London, Institution of Metallurgists.
25.
KorotchenkoV. and BellT.: ‘Applications of plasma nitriding in UK manufacturing industries, Heat Treat. Met., 1978, 4, 88–94.
26.
BellT., StainesA. M. and LohN. L.: ‘Thermochemical heat treatment in a plasma’, Neue Hutte, 1983, 28, 373–379.
BellT. and LohN. L.: ‘The fatigue characteristics of plasma nitridied 3% Cr—Mo steel’, J. Heat Treat., 1982, 2, (3) 232–237.
30.
LohN. L.: PhD thesis, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 1980.
31.
ZhangZ. L. and BellT.: ‘Structure and corrosion resistance of plasma nitrided stainless steel’, Surf Eng., 1985, 1, (2), 131–136.
32.
SunY., BellT. and WoodG.: ‘Wear behaviour of plasma-nitrided martensitic stainless steel’, Wear, 1994, 178, 131–138.
33.
LiX.: ‘Characterisation of low temperature plasma nitrided austenitic stainless steels’, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, 1999.
34.
SunY., BellT., KolosvaryZ. and FlisJ.: ‘The response of austenitic stainless steels to low temperature plasma nitriding’, in ‘Stainless steel 2000’, (ed. BellT. and AkamatsusK.), 65–81; 2001, London, Maney Publishing.
35.
StainesA. M. and HartS.: ‘Industrial aspects of heat treatment in a glow discharge system’, Surf Eng., 1989, 5, (4), 285–291.
36.
StainesA. M.: ‘Today's processing options for nitriding — gaseous and plasma routes compared, Heat Treat. Met., 1996, 1, 1–6.
37.
BellT., ZhangZ. L., LanaganJ. and StainesA. M.: ‘Plasma nitriding treatments for enhanced wear and corrosion resistance’, in ‘Coatings and surface treatment for corrosion and wear resistance’, 164–177; 1984, Chichester, Ellis Horwood.
38.
BellT., BergmannH. W., LanaganJ., MortonP. H. and StainesA. M.: ‘Surface engineering of titanium with nitrogen’, Surf Eng., 1986, 2, (2), 133–143.
39.
BellT. and StainesA. M.: ‘A laboratory investigation of plasma carburising in hydrogen—methane mixtures’, High Temp. Technol, 1983, 1, (4), 209–214.
40.
StainesA. M., BellT. and BergmannH. W.: ‘Carbon mass transfer effects during plasma carburising’, in Proc. Conf. Heat Treatment ‘84, Book 312, 1-48; 1984, London, The Metals Society.
41.
CzelusniakA., MorawskiC. D. and LilientalW. K.: ‘Automatic nitriding potential control in gas nitriding’, Proc. ASM Int. Heat Treating Conf.: ‘Equipment and processes’, Schaumberg, IL, USA, April1994, ASM International, 449.
42.
LilientalW. K., MorawskiC. D. and CzelusniakA.: Nitreg — controlled nitriding Applied in the automotive industry’, Proc. ASM Int. Heat Treating Conf.: ‘Equipment and processes’, Schaumberg, IL, USA, April 1994, ASM International, 331.
43.
SunY. and BellT.: ‘Modelling of plasma nitriding of low alloy steels’, Surf Eng., 1995, 11, (2), 146–148.
44.
SunY. and BelT.: ‘A numerical model of plasma nitriding of low alloy steels’, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 1991, A140, 419–434.
45.
SunY., NewbyC., StrobachE. and BellT.: ‘Nitrogen mass transfer during plasma nitriding’, Proc. 4th Int. Sem. IFHT, Beijing, China, September1993, IFHT, 46–52.
46.
BellT. and BloyceA.: Witriding laser treated titanium bearing low alloy steels’, in Proc. Conf. Heat Treatment ‘84; 1984, London, The Metals Society.
47.
StainesA. M. and BellT.: ‘Multiple surface treatments for low-alloy steels’, in ‘Engineering the surface’; 1986, London, The Institute of Metals.
48.
SunY.: ‘Plasma nitriding and PVD ceramic coating of low-alloy steel’, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, 1989.
49.
GeorgesJ.: EP Patent 0872569A1, 1998.
50.
LiX. Y., HabibiN., BellT. and DongH.: ‘Microstructural characteristics of a plasma carburized low carbon Co—Cr alloy’, Surf Eng., 2007, 23, 45–51.
