HARDNESS, TRIBOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR AND CORROSION PERFORMANCE AT THE VERYNEAR-SURFACE OF NITROGEN ION-IMPLANTED X5CRNI18.10 STEEL

The influence of nitrogen ion implantation on the hardness, tribologic al behaviour and corrosion performance at the very near surface of pol ished X5CrNi18.10 steel was studied. The specimens were implanted with 120 keV N+ ions to four different fluences ranging from 10(16) to 10( 18) ions cm(-2). It was found that hardness, tribological behaviour in terms of wear and friction, and corrosion resistance of the specimens strongly depend on the implantation conditions. The greatest improvem ent in the surface properties of the steel was achieved at doses betwe en 1 x 10(17) and 5 x 10(17) ions cm(-2). Although hardness, wear resi stance and friction behaviour were improved noticeably by the implanta tion, N ion implantation tended to reduce the corrosion resistance of the specimens in KNO3. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A.