US 6,982,120 B2 | ||
Hardened steel components and process of treating the same | ||
Manfred Schuster, Rodgau (Germany) | ||
Assigned to GKN Driveline Duetschland GmbH, (Germany) | ||
Appl. No. 10/489,742 PCT Filed Jul. 20, 2002, PCT No. PCT/EP02/08114 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Sep. 15, 2004, PCT Pub. No. WO03/025233, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 27, 2003. |
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Claims priority of application No. 101 45 599 (DE), filed on Sep. 15, 2001. | ||
Prior Publication US 2005/0039825 A1, Feb. 24, 2005 | ||
Int. Cl. C21D 9/40 (2006.01) |
U.S. Cl. 428—472 | 20 Claims |
1. A wear-resistant steel component comprising:
a surface layer (15) comprising a pore containing seam (16) of burnt iron nitrides and, positioned thereunderneath, a non-metallic connecting zone (17) of iron nitrides;
a diffusion zone (18) of nitrogen-enriched mixed crystals and precipitated nitrides in a matrix of a martensite-nitrogen structure;
an induction hardened layer (20) at least in part superimposed on the diffusion zone (18), the diffusion zone (18) positioned underneath the connecting zone (17); and
a core (19) of heat-treatable steel positioned underneath the induction hardened layer (20).
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