Abstract
In order to increase the thickness of diffusion layers on TiNi alloys, the rare earth (RE) metals La and Ce were employed in the plasma carbonitriding process. The phases, microstructures and wear behaviours of the coated TiNi with and without RE assistance were compared. Experimental results indicated the addition of RE obviously increased the thickness of diffusion layer from 2·5 to 12·5 μm. Rare earth assisted plasma carbonitrided samples had less weight loss, and thus they exhibited better wear resistance than specimens plasma carbonitrided without RE assistance.
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The study was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51071059 and no. 50971052) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. HIT.KLOF.2010005). Many thanks to Professor Yan Mufu and Dr Cong Tao for their help on experimental part.