Effects of Plasma Nitriding Process on AISI 304 Stainless Steel

Abstract

AISI 304 stainless steel is a type of austenitic stainless steel that contains a high percentage of chromium and nickel. It is one of the most widely used grades of stainless steel and is commonly used in a variety of applications, including kitchen equipment, food processing equipment, and chemical processing equipment. AISI 304 stainless steel is a versatile and widely used material due to its excellent corrosion resistance, durability, and non-magnetic properties. Low-temperature processes like ion implantation, plasma nitriding can prevent the corrosion resistance of stainless steels by diffusion of plasma into the surface of the material, forming precipitation of Chromium nitride. For this research work, plasma nitriding is carried out on AISI 304 at low-temperatures 550°C for the time duration of 8 hrs, 16 hrs and 32 hrs. The formation of nitrogen-enriched layers with high nitrogen content promoted to increase in surface hardness. Wear test were carried out with pin on disc machine and the samples were undergone with hardness tests. The microstructures of plasma treated samples were compared with untreated microstructures. It was noted that phase change occurred from austenite to expanded austenite forming a hard layer from the surface level improving the wear resistance of the material.

Analysis of Wear Behaviour on AISI 431 Martensitic Stainless Steel by Vacuum Annealing Process

“…Wear tribometer are widely used in tribology, which involves in placing a small pin against rotating disc as shown in Fig 2 . This setup allows for the evaluation of friction, wear, and other tribological properties of materials under controlled conditions. The wear characterization of the materials in this experiment would involve analyzing the wear behavior of the treated samples based on factors such as wear rate, coefficient of friction, and surface damage [35][36][37][38][39]. The results obtained from the wear test would provide insights into the effectiveness of the heat treatment processes in improving the wear resistance of the material.…”