Analyses of quenching process during turn-off of plasma electrolytic carburizing on carbon steel

Plasma electrolytic carburizing (PEC) under different turn-off modes was employed to fabricate a hardening layer on carbon steel in glycerol solution without stirring at 380 V for 3 min. The quenching process in fast turn-off mode or slow turn-off mode of power supply was discussed. The temperature in the interior of steel and electron temperature in plasma discharge envelope during the quenching process were evaluated. It was found that the cooling rates of PEC samples in both turn-off modes were below 20 °C/s, because the vapor film boiling around the steel sample reduced the cooling rate greatly in terms of Leidenfrost effect. Thus the quench hardening hardly took place, though the slow turn-off mode slightly decreased the surface roughness of PEC steel. At the end of PEC treatment, the fast turn-off mode used widely at present cannot enhance the surface hardness by quench hardening, and the slow turn-off mode was recommended in order to protect the electronic devices against a large current surge.