The effect of surface roughness and carburized depth on wear resistance in 16MnCr5 case hardening steel

Purpose Today, wear and tear is a metaphor whose cost cannot be ignored by real sector. For this reason, many sectoral and academic studies are carried out to minimize the wear effect. This study aims to create a perspective against wear problems for the automotive industry as well. Design/methodology/approach The 16MnC5 material, which is used as the U-joint material in the powertrain of the automotive industry, was subjected to heat treatment such as normalization and carburization at certain temperatures and duration. By subjecting the resulting carbide thickness to the abrasion process, the maximum effective heat treatment parameters against wear were determined. Findings It has been determined that the ideal cementation condition for 16MnCr5 steel to be used in the wear system is carburized samples at 900 °C for 3.5 h with a hardness depth of 1.04 mm. Originality/value The variation in which the surface hardness thickness and surface roughness obtained by different heat treatment variations of the U-joint part, which is one of the cardan shaft components that provide power transmission of heavy commercial vehicles, show the best wear resistance, were investigated. As a result of this study, the study is to prevent the waste of limited materials in the world and to reduce the repair and maintenance costs of commercial vehicles. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2024-0152/