The effects of induction hardening on wear properties of AISI 4140 steel in dry sliding conditions

Wear behaviour of induction hardened AISI 4140 steel was evaluated under dry sliding conditions. Specimens were induction hardened at 1000 Hz for 6, 10, 14, 18, 27 s, respectively, in the inductor which was a three-turn coil with a coupling distance of 2.8 mm. Normalised and induction hardened specimens were fully characterised before and after the wear testing using hardness, profilometer, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The wear tests using a pin-on-disc machine showed that the induction hardening treatments improved the wear behaviour of AISI 4140 steel specimens compared to normalised AISI 4140 steel as a result of residual stresses and hardened surfaces. The wear coefficients in normalised specimens are greater than that in the induction hardened samples. The lowest coefficient of the friction was obtained in specimens induction-hardened at 875 °C for 27 s.