Metal Science and Heat Treatment

Vol. 38, Nos. 9 - 10, 1996

HEAT TREATMENT WITH HIGH-ENERGY SOURCES

UDC 621.9.044:620.186:669.14

EFFECT OF PLASMA-ARC TREATMENT ON STRUCTURAL

TRANSFORMATIONS AND SURFACE HARDENING
OF CARBON AND ALLOYED STEELS
D. S. Stavrev, t L. M. Kaputkina, ~ S. K. Kirov, ~
Yu. V. Shamonin, t and V. G. Prokoshkina ~
Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 9, pp. 1 6 - 19, September, 1996.
Plasma-arc surface treatment is a rather simple and effective method for hardening steels. The increase in the
resistance to external effects depends on the treatment parameters, the composition of the treated alloy, its
initial structure, and the preliminary and post-heat treatment. The present work is devoted to the effect of the
regime of plasma-are surface treatment of steels with different initial structures on the proportion and extent
of the strengthened layers, the distribution of the phase and structural components in them, and the wear
resistance.

X-ray lines of martensite and retained austenite were obtained on a DRON-4S-01 diffractometer in cobalt Ka radiation at points of layers lying 50, 400, and 700 lam from the
surface. The profile of the martensite line (200) was separated
analytically into singlets using the method of Shtremei' and
Kaputkina [ 1]. The lattice parameters c and a and the amount
of tetragonal tempered (self-tempered) martensite were determined. The lattice parameters of austenite were determined
from the centers of gravity of the lines (h/d) and % by linear
extrapolation of the N e l s o n - R i l e y function to an angle of
90 . The random error in measuring the lattice parameter for
each line (h/d) was estimated for a confidence level of 0.95
with allowance for: (1) the error in measuring the background, (2) the error determined by the volume of reflection
statistics, (3) the error due to the chosen methods for recording the profile of the line and for pointwise calculation of the
coordinates of its center of gravity.
Foils were prepared for an electron-microscopic investigation in the following way. Plates 0.8 mm thick were cut on

We studied specimens 30 x 30 x 10 mm in size of steels

45, 40Kh, U8, KhVG (Table 1) subjected to a preliminary
heat treatment, namely, toughening. Surface treatment was
performed by two regimes on an installation that provided
hardening by a scanning plasma arc at a frequency of 20 Hz,
namely, regime 1 with a current strength I = 140 A and a velocity of plasmatron displacement vp = 420 mm/min and regime 2 with I = 120 A and vp = 220 mm/min. The hardened
zone was 20 mm wide and 0.7 - 1.3 mm thick.
A comparative volume hardening was conducted for
specimens 15 x 15 x 10 mm in size atter heating in an indifferent medium to 850C and a hold for 25 min. Then the
specimens were ground and polished by mechanical and electrolytic methods (the composition of the electrolyte was 195
ml H3PO4 + 33 g Cr203 + 7 mi H20) under conditions precluding heating above room temperature.
M o s c o w Institute o f Steel and Alloys, M o s c o w , Russia.

TABLE I

Concentration o f elements, %

Steel
C

Mn

Ni

Cr

Si

Cu

U8

0.76 - 0.83

0. I 7 - 0.33

0.25

< 0.20

0.17 - 0.33

0.028

0.030

0.25

45

0.42-0.50

0.50-0.80

0.25

<0.25

0.17-0.37

0.04

0.035

0.25

40

0.36-0.44

0.50-0.80

0.80-1.10

U.17-0.37

0.035

0.035

KhVG

0.90-

0.80-

0.50-0.80

0.90-

0.15-0.35

0.030

0.030

1.05

1.10

1.20

382
0026-0673196/0910-0382515.00ID 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporilion

Effect of Plasma-Arc Treatment on Structural Transformations of Carbon and Alloyed Steels

a Microslice installation and then ground to a thickness of

100 !am. Then they were subjected to electrolytic polishing in
"closed" pincers in an electrolyte at 18C under a constant
voltage of 30 V. The structure was investigated under a Neophot-33 microscope and a electron Tesla BS-540 microscope.
The wear resistance was determined from the loss of
mass in the specimens under a contact load of 3.5 N/mm 2 by
the body-counterbody method. The loading cyclicity was 120
cycles/min.
After surface hardening by both regimes, phase changes
occur in the metal in the solid state. The parameters of the
second regime (I = 120 A, Vp= 220 mm/min) have limit values, i.e., envisage that the surface layer should be heated to
the melting point, although no signs of definite melting are
observed. There is a gradual transformation over the thickness of the surface layer from a zone of complete austenitization and subsequent hardening to the initial structure of the
base metal. The inhomogeneity of the carbon distribution in
the austenite is inherited by the martensite and propagates
into the depth of the hardened layer, where there are incompletely dissolved carbide laminas of the former pearlite. This
determines the morphology of the martensite and its substructure and composition formed as a result of rapid cooling due
to the high thermal conductivity of the metal. The inhomogeneity of the structure is determined by the initial state of the
metal and the energy and time parameters of the hardening

HV

h, Jam

110(
900

383

12

1100

700
500
300

300

1oo

100
45

40Kh

U8

KhVG

45 40Kh

U8 KhVG

Fig. !. Microhardness and thickness of the hardened layer in the studied

steels after volume hardening (0) and after plasma-arc hardening by regimes
l (l)and2(2).

processes. An increase in the rate of treatment increases the

inhomogeneity of the structure and decreases the thickness
and increases the hardness of the strengthened layer (Fig. 1).
A layerwise electron-microscopic analysis has shown
that the structure of hardened layers in steels U8 and KhVG is
represented by twinned lamellar martensite. In hardened layers of steels 45 and 40Kh, especially on the surface, we observed both lath and lamellar twinned martensite (Fig. 2a),
which is rare in volume-hardened steels. Lamellar twinned
martensite is probably formed at sites of former pearlite colonies, where an elevated carbon concentration is retained due

384

D . S . Stavrev et al.

TABLE 2

CA
h, lam

Aret, %

Surface
400
700

36
20
-

ble with the thickness of the ferrite larnellas from pearlite

(Fig. 2b). This occurs due to the higher rate of the ct ~ "t
transformation in heating and of the martensitic transformation in cooling compared with the dissolution of carbides and
the homogenization of austenite. As a result of the structural
inhomogeneity different microvolumes have different properties.
On the whole, the special features of the structure after
plasma-arc hardening provide an increase in the microhardness compared to volume hardening, and it is greater the
more carbon the steel contains (see Fig. 1). It should be noted
that the difference in the mean values of the mierohardness
after plasma-arc treatment in accordance with regimes 1 and
2 is slight. The structural differences over the thickness of the
strengthened zone manifest themselves in the scattering of
the microhardness values caused by the microstructural inhomogeneity. Homogenizing is rather complete in the surface
layers of hardened steels 45 and 40Kh, where the temperature
is high, and the difference between the maximum and minimum hardnesses is low. At a distance of 400 - 500 tam from
the surface this difference increases due to the inhomogeneity
of the structure.
The results of the microscopic analysis are confirmed by
the x-ray diffraction method. Different amounts of retained
austenite were recorded over the thickness of the hardened
zone (Tables2 and 3). With increase in the distance from the
surface the amount of retained austenite and carbon dissolved
in it decreases. The carbides dissolve completely in the
austenite in the heated surface layer and stabilize it in cooling. These process are weak at a distance of 300 - 700 tam
from the surface, where a large amount of the carbide phase is
retained.
The carbon content in the retained austenite on the surface of the hardened zone after treatment by either of the two
regimes exceeds its mean content in the steel, which indicates
that carbon is distributed nonuniformly in austenite after
rapid and brief heating. The large amount of retained
austenite can be explained by a high content of carbon and
alloying elements that decrease the point of the martensitic
transformation.
In specimens of steel KhVG subjected to plasma-arc
treatment the amount of retained austenite is considerably
higher (36%) than after volume hardening (5%) by a standard

Cu
%

1.23
0.85
-

0.95
0.70
0.30

15, rad

Fe(Cr)3C, Cr23C6
The same

0.02706
0.02157
0.01700

Note. The results are presented for steel KhVG treated by regime 1.
Notation. h) distance from the surface; Am ) m o u n t of retained aust~te;

CA, CM) carbon contents in austenite and martensite, respectively;K) carbides; 15) physical broadening.

to the short hold at high temperatures. This determines the

special features of the structure of microvolumes with a high
carbon content (relative to microvolumes where the carbon
content is moderate) in subsequent rapid cooling, in which
the martensitic transformation occurs by a mechanism typical
for high-carbon steels. Fine carbide particles incompletely
dissolved during the rapid heating are retained in the formed
martensite crystals and impede or orient crystal growth along
eementite particles of former pearlite colonies. In addition,
undissolved carbide particles hamper the growth of austenite
grains until a high surface temperature (almost equal to Tnzlt)
is attained. In lath martensite the size of the laths and their
orientation often correspond to the size and orientation offerrite lameilas in a pearlite colony, which is a sign of inheritance in the phase transformations. Another possible site of
formation of lath martensite is former ferrite grains, which
give way to austenite with a lower carbon concentration. It
can also be assumed that in the middle of these carbon-depleted volumes low-carbon ferrite or a distinctive troostite
can be retained. Lath martensite is also formed along the periphery of former ferrite grains.
The inhomogeneity of the structure increases in all the
studied steels with the distance from the surface. At a distance of 300 - 700 tam from the surface, steel KhVG exhibits
undissolved carbides of the types Fe3C, Fe(Cr)3C , and
Cr23C6, and the martensite crystals are finer. A distinctive
martensite-troostite structure followed by a troostite-ferrite
structure with a well-defined inheritance with respect to the
initial structure are observed (Fig. 2c). In addition, former
pearlite grains are retained (in steels 45 and 40Kh); in them,
due to the large number of undissolved carbide lameilas, the
martensite crystals are elongated and their sizes are compara-

TABLE 3
Steel
KhVG

40Kh

Treatment

Am, %

Hardening from 850C in oil

Surface treatment by regime I
Surface treatment by regime 2

5
36
33

Hardening from 8500C in water

Surface treatment by regime 1
Surface treatment by regime 2

Tl'aCC$

The notation is as m Table 2.

cA

cu
%

1.23
1.26

0.63
0.95
0.95

0.35
0.33

-0.50
0.35

13,tad

Traces
Cr23C6,Fe(CrhC
Cr23C6,Fc(Cr)3C

0.02106
0.02706
0.02833
0,01305
0.01608
0.01783

Effect of Plasma-Arc Treatment on Structural Transformations of Carbon and Alloyed Steels

regime (a comparatively low temperature of heating for hardening and a low cooling rate). After plasma-arc treatment by
regime 1 the structure of steel 40Kh exhibits traces of retained austenite.
The profile of the martensite line (200) changes depending on the kind of heat treatment used and the chosen regime
of surface hardening. Directly after a treatment by different
regimes steel KhVG possessed a certain amount of tempered
martensite (from 5 to 15%), and the initial highly tetragonal
rnartensite occupied the main part of the volume (Tables 2
and 3). The martensite doublet component (002) has been recorded for a wide range of reflection angles, which is an obvious sign of high inhomogeneity of the a-solid solution (Table 2) formed from the originally inhomogeneous austenite.
The change in the profile of the martensite line over the thickness of the hardened layer indicates that the mean concentration of carbon in the martensite decreases.
The results of an investigation of the wear resistance of
steels with different carbon contents agree with the results of
the microsla'uctural analysis of the specimens after plasma-arc
treatment. The wear resistance increased due to the formation
of a structure with considerably bbroken-up austenite grains,
laths and laminas o f martensite, and the presence of fine carbides of the types Fe3C, Fe(Cr)3C, Crz3C6. It follows from
Fig. 3 that the wear intensity depends on the carbon content
in the steel and that it is much lower after plasma-arc hardening than after volume hardening. The effect is the most pronounced in specimens of structural steel 40Kh.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Plasma-arc treatment increases the hardness and wear
resistance o f all the steels studied, especially steel 40Kh.
2. A preliminary heat treatment (toughening) is recommended in order to provide high toughness and ductility of
the core and eliminate cracking after plasma-arc treatment,
make the hardened layer more homogeneous, and provide a

385

AM, m g
,L
36-

322824-

0
0

16
128
t
U8

KhVG

Fig. 3. Wear resistance of the studied steels (AM is the loss of mass) after volumehardening(0) and after plasma-arc treatmentby regimes ! (!)
and 2 (2).

smoother variation of the properties from the surface to the

COre,

3. The surface hardness and wear resistance of structural

steels subjected to plasma-arc surface treatment are improved
due to the dispersity and local inhomogeneity of the martensite structure (both lath and lameilar) with a varying carbon
content and presence of carbide particles undissolved in the
heating process.
4. The surface hardness and wear resistance of tool steels
after plasma-arc treatment increase for the same reasons and
also due to the presence of special carbides, the increase in
the proportion of lath martensite, the higher carbon content in
the martensite, and the presence of retained austenite in the
surface layer, which decreases cracking and chipping in nmning-in.
REFERENCES
1. M.A. Sha'emel' and L. M. Kaputkina, "X-ray diffraction analysis
of polycrystals of carbon martensite," Fiz. Met. Metalloved.,
32(51), 991 - 997 (1971).