In the present investigation, the effect of plasma nitriding on the microabrasion behaviour of sintered unalloyed iron is investigated. Plasma nitriding was carried using two different sets of operative parameters in order to produce microstructures composed of different dominants iron nitrides, e.g.Fe4N (y´) and Fe2–3N(e), phases. Microabrasive wear tests were carried out in a ‘free ball’ microabrasion tester using SiC slurries. The tribological parameters were kept constant during the tests. The microstructures constituted of e-(Fe2–3N) phase presented a superior abrasion resistance.
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