MASS-TRANSPORT IN ION CARBURIZING

Thermochemical treatment in a glow discharge is a new and effective su rface hardening process. One version of this method, ion carburizing, is acknowledged to be the method of choice for treatment of heavy-load machine parts. Despite the practical use of ion carburizing, scientif ic ideas concerning the interaction of the gaseous medium activated by the glow discharge with the surface of the metal to be saturated have not been adequately formulated. The characteristics of external mass transport remain the least studied, due to the complexity and diversit y of the physicochemical processes occurring both in a nonequilibrium ionized atmosphere and on the surface to be saturated. This paper is d evoted to the investigation of these characteristics, based on optical spectral diagnostics of the glow discharge.