Influence of Acetylene Pressure of Low-Pressure Carburization on the Carburizing Properties of AISI 4120 steel

진공 침탄에서 아세틸렌 압력이 AISI 4120 강의 표면 물성에 미치는 영향

Low pressure carburizing is an industrially adopted process to modify the mechanical properties of the iron surface. Since acetylene gas is used as a carbon source, it has excellent carbon absorption and uniform carburizing layer compared to other carburizing gas. The superiority of carburizing properties is determined by the selection of process parameters such as acetylene flow rate and process pressure. The the effects of the pressure of acetylene as a carburizing gas on carbon transfer and surface properties of carburized specimen. AISI 4120 steel was carburized using pure acetylene at flow rates of 10, 30 sccm and pressure conditions of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 torr. In order to investigate the carbon behavior according to the acetylene pressure, the mass gain of carbon was measured and the abnormal structure formed on the surface was observed. With the experimental results, Abnormal layers such as soot and cementite were not observed on the surface of the carburized specimens under the 10 sccm condition, and there was no significant difference in carburizing properties according to pressure. On the other hand, as the pressure increased under the condition of 30 sccm, the cementite fraction increased, and soot was formed from 15 torr, reducing the overall hardness gradient.