Structural and tribological properties of carbon steels modified by plasma pulses containing inert and active ions

It is known that phase transformations into austenite can take place in the surface layer of steels irradiated with intense pulses of laser, ion or plasma beams. Due to the presence of nitrogen and carbon expanded austenite in stainless steel, good corrosion resistance is maintained while the wear resistance is increased. A series of carbon steels with various carbon contents was irradiated with high intensity (5–6 J/cm2), short (μs range) nitrogen and argon plasma pulses. The pulsed energy was high enough to melt the surface region of the samples. This paper reports the results of investigations of structural and tribological properties of the near surface layer of carbon steels induced by such treatment. The identified phases and wear resistance of the modified layer are presented.