Low-pressure nitriding according to the FineLPN technology in multi-purpose vacuum furnaces

Abstract

Developing steady state models to conduct and control repeatable processes of low-pressure nitriding is not possible in practice as the nitrogen content in a nitrided layer depends not only on the nitriding parameters, but also on the content of alloying elements in steel and the nucleation stage which is difficult to control. Therefore, a new concept of conducting such processes has been proposed. It has been shown that application of an appropriate method of activation of steel parts surface makes the nucleation stage uniform and reduces its duration. A system based on artificial intelligence methods has also been proposed, which enables modelling and control of non-equilibrium processes of low-pressure nitriding of tool steels. This model is based on the "boost-diffusion" schedule of the process.