Thermochemical treatment

Thermochemical treatments are materials engineering processes that are intended to give metallic materials specific properties through Material transfer with the environment. This primarily takes place in the surface layers during Heat treatment.

The substitute materials can be introduced in the form of solids (powders, pastes), liquids (molten metals) or gases (air, nitrogen).

A distinction is made between thermochemical treatments with non-metal diffusion such as

• carburising
• boronising
• carbonitriding
• nitriding
• oxidising
• sulphidising

processes with metal diffusion such as

• chromising
• alitising
• siliconising
• manganising

and methods involving metal/non-metal diffusion.

Thermochemical treatments can improve properties such as the material's behaviour when exposed to dynamic, corrosive or tribological stresses.