The influence of method and temperature of ion-plasma treatment on physical and mechanical properties of surface layers in austenitic stainless steel

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Abstract

Ion-plasma saturation with interstitial atoms (nitrogen or carbon) is a promising method for enhancing the surface strength and wear resistance of austenitic stainless steel parts and products. The paper considers the influence of method and temperature of ion-plasma treatment (IPT) on phase composition, thickness, and strength properties (microhardness) of the surface layers in 01H17N13M3 austenitic stainless steel specimens. Steel specimens with a coarse-grained structure were nitrided in the arc and glow discharge plasma at different temperatures (400 °C, 550 °C, and 700 °C). Regardless of temperature and IPT-method, ion-plasma nitriding leads to the formation of hardened surface layers in steel specimens. In this case, the thickness and phase composition of IPT-hardened layers depend on both the method and temperature of nitriding. Nitrogen saturation of specimen surfaces in the glow discharge at a temperature of 400 °C promotes the formation of a thin S-phase layer (nitrogen-expanded austenite, 4 μm in thickness). At the same IPT temperature in the arc discharge plasma, the authors observed the formation of a heterophase (Fe-γN, Fe4N, CrN, and Fe-α) surface layer with a significantly greater thickness (40–45 μm). Regardless of the IPT-method, a saturation of specimens at temperatures of 550 °C and 700 °C is accompanied by the formation of thick heterophase hardened layers (40–60 μm). In this case, the IPT method has a negligible effect on the phase composition of layers but significantly affects the ratio of the volume content of the hardened phases. After being IPT-processed in different modes, the microhardness distribution profile for all specimens has three typical zones: a composite layer (or S-phase at the IPT in a glow discharge at Ta=400 °C), a diffusion zone, and a matrix. With an increase in the saturation temperature, the thickness of the transition diffusion zone increases regardless of the IPT method.

About the authors

Elena A. Zagibalova

Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk (Russia); National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk (Russia)

Author for correspondence.
Email: zagibalova-lena99@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2079-7198

engineer, student

Russian Federation

Valentina A. Moskvina

Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk (Russia)

Email: fake@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6128-484X

junior researcher, postgraduate student

Russian Federation

Galina G. Mayer

Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk (Russia)

Email: fake@neicon.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3043-9754

PhD (Physics and Mathematics), researcher

Russian Federation

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