Glow Discharge Plasma Nitriding of Al 6063 Samples and Study of Their Surface Hardness

摘要

Plasma nitriding also knows as ion nitriding or glow discharge plasma nitriding is a method of surface hardening. It is a process by which nitrogen is introduced in the matie4rla, thus changing the surface properties of the material. Usually plasma nitriding is carried under low pressure (i.e. in mbar range), which is called low-pressure plasma nitriding. High voltage dc discharge is used to form plasma through which the nitrogen ions are then accelerated to deposit on the work piece. Depending on the processing conditions i.e. the processing time, discharge current, bias voltage, gas mixture percentage and pressure, the nitriding layer can be changed and accordingly the surface properties can be modified. Gases such as argon,. Hydrogen, etc. Can be used as a catalyst along with nitrogen, which helps in formation of nitride layer. The nitride layer so formed can be of the order of 0.01 to 0.1 #mu#m. As thickness of the nitride layer is increased, surface of the material can be made harder. The hardness of the material surface can be measured using different methods. Here we have measured the hardness using durometer.