Conditions of quenching, tempering, nitriding, and low-temperature gas cyaniding of 3Kh2V8 steel

Conclusions

• 1. By comparison with quenched and tempered samples, cyanided and nitrided samples of 3Kh2V8 steel have a substantially higher surface hardness at room and elevated temperatures and are less susceptible to cracking under sharp variations of thermal loading.

• 2. Low-temperature gas cyaniding of 3Kh2V8 steel is better than nitriding, since it is possible to obtain a cyanided case without ε phase, which ensures better mechanical properties.

• 3. The use of low-temperature gas cyaniding conducted under the optimum conditions (560°C, 5–7 h) doubles the durability of molds for pressure casting and substantially reduces casting rejects due to fins.