Corrosion performance and tribological properties of carbonitrided 304 stainless steel

Friction and wear performance of austenite stainless steels have been extensively studied and show a close relationship with the friction-induced martensitic transformation. However, how the grain size and associated friction-induced martensitic transformation behavior affect the tribological properties of austenite steels have not been systematically studied. In this work, dry sliding tests were performed on an AISI 304 stainless steel with a grain size ranging from 25 to 92 μm. The friction-induced surface morphology and microstructure evolution were characterized. Friction-induced martensitic transformation behavior, including martensite nucleation, martensite growth and martensite variant selection and its effect on the friction and wear behavior of the 304 stainless steel were analyzed. The results showed that both the surface coefficient of friction (COF) and the wear rate increase with the grain size. The COF was reduced three times and wear rate was reduced by 30% as the grain size decreased from 92 to 25 μm. A possible mechanism is proposed to account for the effect of grain size on the tribological behavior. It is discussed that austenite steel with refined grain size tends to suppress the amount of friction-induced martensitic transformed and significantly alleviates both the plowing and adhesive effect during dry sliding.

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Microstructure and tribology of laser mixed Fe/Ti/C multilayered films on AISI 304 stainless steel

Journal of Materials Research ◽

10.1557/jmr.1990.1207 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 5 (6) ◽

pp. 1207-1214 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

M. Nastasi ◽

J-P. Hirvonen ◽

T. G. Zocco ◽

T. R. Jervis

Keyword(s):

Stainless Steel ◽

Tribological Properties ◽

Laser Fluence ◽

Chemical Reactivity ◽

Phase Evolution ◽

304 Stainless Steel ◽

Multilayered Films ◽

Carbide Phases ◽

Fine Grain ◽

Wear And Friction

An excimer laser was used to mix Fe/Ti/C multilayered films on 304 stainless steel substrates. The samples were processed at both 1.1 and 1.7 J/cm2 with the number of pulses at each position varied between 1 and 10. Composition, microstructure, phase evolution, and tribological properties were observed to correlate with total laser fluence. Increases in Fe concentration from substrate interdiffusion and loss of C content were observed with increasing total laser fluence. The best tribological properties were observed in films possessing a combination of an amorphous or Fe3C phase plus fine grain TiC following processing at low and intermediate total laser fluence. At higher total fluences a combination of α-Fe, Fe3C, and fine-grain TiC was observed along with degradation in the wear and friction properties. Under optimum laser processing conditions the modified surface had a friction coefficient under dry sliding conditions reduced by a factor of 2 relative to uncoated 304 stainless steel and was significantly more wear resistant. These improvements in wear and friction appear to be related to the reduced chemical reactivity of the amorphous and carbide phases and to the influence of microstructure on improved mechanical properties.

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