Hj. Spies et al., Structure and properties of stainless steels after plasma immersion ion implantation and plasma nitriding, MATER WERKS, 30(8), 1999, pp. 457-464
Stainless steels can be nitrided at temperatures less than or equal to 400
degrees C to increase their hardness and wear resistance without a decreasi
ng of their excellent corrosion resistance. Structure and properties of the
surface layers produced by plasma nitriding and plasma immersion ion impla
ntation in this temperature range were tested. There are negligible differe
nces in the structure of the produced surface layers in spite of different
interaction principles of the used technologies. However there are clear di
fferences between the case of different steels. The case of ferritic chromi
um steels mainly consists of E-nitride. Whereas the cases of austenitic and
ferritic austenitic steels are characterized by expanded austenite. The co
rrosion resistance of the steels is reduced by nitriding only, if evident C
rN-formation occurs.