The mechanical properties of an extruded 6013-T4 alloy were tested at a temperature range from 25 to 400 °C and strain rate range from 1 × 10³ to 5 × 10³ s⁻¹. The results demonstrate that the stress level is sensitive to strain rate and temperature. The stress level increases slightly with increasing strain rate and decreases remarkably with increasing temperature. The dislocation and precipitate undergo great changes. When deformed at 25 °C, the density of the dislocation increases with strain and strain rate; which leads to a higher stress level. A great number of needle-like precipitates were observed at samples deformed at 200 °C. It is clear that the density of dislocation increases with strain and strain rate. When impacted at 400 °C, the coarser precipitates were found in the specimen; the density of the dislocation increases with strain and strain rate.

The controversial wear resistance limits the application of the nitro-chromizing process, which is a potential advanced chromizing strategy with a low chromizing temperature and thick strengthening layer. In this study, additional carburizing was proposed to optimize the nitro-chromizing process and the associated wear resistance. Samples of carbon steel were used to evaluate the optimized nitro-chromizing, normal nitro-chromizing, and other relevant processes. Comparative analyses were conducted through XRD composition analysis, microstructure observations, and mechanical property tests.The results confirm that the normal nitro-chromized sample has poor wear resistance due to severe abrasive wear, while the wear rate of the optimized nitro-chromized sample is only about 1/15 of that of the normal nitro-chromized sample. Both the above two samples have similar main phase compositions of Cr₂N and Cr₇C₃. However, the optimized nitro-chromized sample exhibits a lower friction coefficient and better adhesion strength than the normal nitro-chromized sample. The additional carburizing induces the formation of massive fine graphite sheets deposited on porous nitriding structures, which can be in charge of the low friction coefficient and good adhesion strength.