Microstructure of nitrogen implanted stainless steel after wear experiment

Outstanding wear resistance of austenitic stainless steel after nitrogen insertion and formation of expanded austenite in the temperature range below 420 degrees C is a well established phenomena. However, detailed information on the wear mechanism for the modified surfaces is still missing. This paper presents the results of wear experiments performed in a dry oscillating geometry against a WC ball (diameter 3 mm, load 3 N), together with metallographic investigations of the resulting cross-sections, both with and without nitriding. Comparisons with calculated stress distributions indicate that those nitrided samples showing a specific wear reduction by a factor of about 100 were subjected to a combination of stress maxima within the surface layer and below the layer in the bulk material.