Tribological Properties of Titanium Surface Alloyed 316L Stainless Steel
Titanium surface alloyed layer was fabricated on 316L stainless steel substrate at 1000°C by means of the plasma surface alloying technique. The content of element titanium in the surface alloyed layer shows gradually tapering from surface to the inside of the substrate and it means an excellent metallurgical binding between the surface modified layer and 316L stainless steel substrate. The hardness of the titanium surface alloyed Layer is 1305HK0.5, which is much larger than that of the 316L stainless steel substrate. The wear performance of the treated and untreated 316L stainless steel was studied using a ball-on-disc sliding wear machine. Although the titanium surface alloyed layer does not show a friction-reducing effect, it improves the wear resistance of 316L stainless steel significantly and its wear rate is only one-fifteenth of that for untreated 316L stainless steel.