Effect of hydrogen heat treatment on antifriction properties of nitrided VT6 titanium-based alloy

Abstract

A comparative study of the antifriction characteristics of specimens of the VT6 titanium-based alloy subjected to nitriding without preliminary treatment and after hydrogen heat treatment has been carried out. Hydrogen heat treatment that precedes nitriding reduces the coefficient of friction of the nitrided specimens of the VT6 alloy in pair with the 12Kh18N10T stainless steel by 4–9% under dry friction and increases it by ~47% in a working fluid, which is a 0.9% NaCl solution. Hydrogen heat treatment combined with ionplasma nitriding reduces the coefficient of friction in working fluid by ~41%.