Sliding wear properties of active screen plasma nitrided 316 austenitic stainless steel

AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel has been plasma nitrided using the novel active screen (AS) plasma nitriding technique. Wear properties of the AS plasma nitrided and untreated 316 stainless steel have been investigated using a pin-on-disc tribometer with cemented tungsten carbide ball as the counterface. Experimental results have shown that AS plasma nitriding can improve the wear resistance of 316 austenitic stainless steel by more than two orders of magnitude. Wear of untreated 316 stainless steel was severe and characterized by strong adhesion, abrasion and severe plastic deformation. Whilst wear of the AS plasma nitrided 316 stainless steel was mild and dominated by oxidation wear and micro-abrasion. No clear difference, in terms of wear resistance improvement, has been found between the novel AS plasma nitriding and the conventional DC plasma nitriding under the present test conditions.