BEHAVIOR OF SINTERED-410-LOW-CARBON-STEELS TOWARDS ION NITRIDING

Sintered stainless steel samples (AISI 410, low carbon, 6.45 and 6.8 g cm(-3) density) have been subjected to ion nitriding at 590 degrees C under different N-2/H-2 mixes and for different times. Investigations have been carried out by means of metallographic techniques, electron probe microanalysis, XRD, hardness and microhardness measurements. Th e hardness values show that current sintering in industrial conditions originate some scattering of physical properties. The hardness and mi crohardness gradients show a very limited influence of material densit y, confirming the suitability of ion nitriding to porous steels. Featu res and behaviour of the nitrided layers were explained on the basis o f the different processing conditions. A more complete survey will ana lyse the wear and corrosion resistance of AISI 410 sintered and ion ni trided specimens.