Mechanism of mechanical property enhancement in nitrogen and titanium implanted 321 stainless steel

Ion implantation is a well-known method to modify surface mechanical properties. The improvement of the mechanical properties can usually be attributed to the formation of new strengthening phases, solution strengthening, dislocation strengthening, or grain refinement. However, in many cases, the roles of individual factors are not clear. In this study, we implanted nitrogen and titanium into 321 stainless steel samples to investigate the enhancement mechanism of the mechanical properties. Nano-indentation experiments were conducted to measure the hardness under various loadings. The N and Ti implanted 321 stainless steel samples were found to behave differently in the hardness (GPa) versus depth (nm) diagram. The effects of the radiation damage, solution strengthening, and dispersion strengthening phase were analyzed. Characterization of the modified layers was performed using techniques such as Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction were also applied to reveal the structure of the untreated 321 stainless steel.