Intensified Saturation of Iron with Nitrogen by the Method of Thermogasocyclic Nitriding

Here, we describe the thermogasocyclic-nitriding method, which consists in multiple alternation of process stages with high and low nitrogen potential conducted at temperatures lower and higher, respectively, than the temperature of the eutectoid transformation in the Fe–N system. The phase composition of the nitrided layer after various operation modes and kinetics of the growth of its individual regions have been studied. The possibilities of intensifying the nitriding process and regulating the phase composition of the layer by an appropriate choice of process parameters, namely, the number of half cycles and their duration, have been demonstrated. © 2018, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.