Increasing the Corrosion Resistance of Structural Steels Using Plasma Nitriding

Plasma nitriding (ion nitriding) is a plasma-supported thermochemical cementation of steel, during which the hardness of the surface and resistance to wear and fatigue of the material increases due to the formation of a hard layer. The process of plasma nitriding is very variable, which makes it possible to nitride all types of steel, but the result depends primarily on the chemical composition and process tech-nique. In this way, for example, cement, construction, tool steels, high-strength and stainless steels, as well as cast iron, are nitrided. Structural steel belongs to a group of very important and diverse materi-als, it has versatile use in many areas of industry such as machines, vehicles, buildings, bridges, etc. Corrosion of materials is a common phenomenon that cannot be completely eliminated. This degrada-tion is often classified as one of the main reasons for material loss. The article presents the benefit of plasma nitriding on the corrosion resistance of structural steels. Experiments were carried out for select-ed three types of structural steels, on which plasma nitriding was performed and then a corrosion test in a mist of neutral sodium chloride solution. The achieved results confirmed that plasma nitriding has a significant effect on increasing the corrosion resistance of structural steels.