Laboratory assessment of wear on nitrided surfaces of dies for hot extrusion of aluminium

A newly designed “block-on-cylinder” wear resistance testing rig, which allows testing at higher contact pressures than conventional testing methods, was used to elucidate the effect of an iron nitride compound layer (white layer) on the wear resistance of nitrided dies used for hot extrusion of aluminium (Al). The tested dies (AISI H13) with various nitrided microstructures were provided by different manufacturers of equipment for plasma and gas nitriding. The wear surfaces were analysed by SEM, BEC, micrography and roughness measurements. It was found that the iron nitride compound layer is chemically more stable against hot Al in comparison to die material. Deterioration of the compound layer begins with cracking, and as a consequence, its spalling from the nitrided surface. A high thickness of the compound layer combined with a low nitriding depth leads to its earlier spalling and vice versa. Due to the increased roughness at the removal sites, accelerated chemical attack by hot Al takes place. Comparative and simultaneous testing of two nitrided samples was carried out.