Steels nitrided, hardness range

The greatest use of cubic boron nitride is as an abrasive under the name Bora2on, in the form of small crystals, 1—500 p.m in si2e. Usually these crystals are incorporated in abrasive wheels and used to grind hard ferrous and nickel-based alloys, ranging from high speed steel tools and chilled cast-iron to gas turbine parts. The extreme hardness of the crystals and their resistance to attack by air and hot metal make the wheels very durable, and close tolerances can be maintained on the workpieces. 

The presence of carbide and nitride precipitates in alloy steels can have a beneficial effect on the mechanical properties of the steels concerned. How-ever, the amounts, morphology and distribution of the precipitated phases must be carefully controlled in order to achieve the properties required. Because the presence of hard precipitates in a steel during hot-rolling operations can result in damage both to the rollers and to the steel, it is important that information be available on the ranges of temperature and composition in which precipitated phases are stable. For this reason, and also to achieve desired precipitation characteristics using the minimum amounts of expensive precipitating elements such as niobium, titanium, vanadium, etc., it is helpful to cany out prior calculations of the stability of precipitates in steels of different compositions. 

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