Corrosion properties of active screen plasma nitrided 316 austenitic stainless steel

AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel has been plasma nitrided using the active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) technique. Corrosion properties of the untreated and AS plasma nitrided 316 steel have been evaluated using various techniques, including qualitative evaluation after etching in 50%HCl + 25%HNO₃ + 25%H₂O, weight loss measurement after immersion in 10% HCl, and anodic polarisation tests in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results showed that the untreated 316 stainless steel suffered severe localised pitting and crevice corrosion under the testing conditions. AS plasma nitriding at low temperature (420 °C) produced a single phase nitrided layer of nitrogen expanded austenite (S-phase), which considerably improved the corrosion properties of the 316 austenitic stainless steel. In contrast, AS plasma nitriding at a high temperature (500 °C) resulted in chromium nitride precipitation so that the bulk of the nitrided case had very poor corrosion resistance. However, a thin deposition layer on top of the nitrided case, which seems to be unique to AS plasma nitriding, could have alleviated the corrosion attack of the higher temperature nitrided 316 steel.     

Corrosion properties of plasma nitrided AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl and 1% HCl aqueous solutions

Samples of an AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel were plasma nitrided at a temperature of 420 °C, 460 °C or 500 °C for 20 h. The composition, microstructure and hardness of the nitrided samples were characterised using a variety of analytical techniques. In particular, the corrosion properties of the untreated and plasma nitrided samples were evaluated using anodic polarisation tests in 3.5% NaCl solution and immersion tests in 1% HCl acidic water solution. The results showed that plasma nitriding produced a relatively thick nitrided case consisting of a compound layer and a nitrogen diffusion layer on the 410 stainless steel surface. Plasma nitriding not only increased the surface hardness but also improved the corrosion resistance of the martensitic stainless steel. In the immersion test, nitrided samples showed lower weight loss and lower corrosion rate than untreated one. In the electrochemical corrosion tests, the nitrided samples showed higher corrosion potentials, higher pitting potentials and greatly reduced current densities. The improved corrosion resistance was believed to be related to the iron nitride compound layer formed on the martensitic stainless steel surface during plasma nitriding, which protected the underlying metal from corrosive attack under the testing conditions.     

Effect of ageing heat treatments on the microstructure and intergranular corrosion of powder metallurgy duplex stainless steels

The influence of ageing heat treatments (675 and 875 °C for 1.5 to 48 h) on the microstructure and intergranular corrosion resistance of sintered in nitrogen duplex stainless steels was investigated. The materials were obtained by sintering mixtures of austenitic AISI 316L and ferritic AISI 430L powders. Corrosion behaviour was evaluated by using electrochemical techniques. The beneficial effect of nitrogen on corrosion behaviour of solution annealed samples was established. During ageing, secondary phases were precipitated and the intergranular and transgranular corrosion resistance significantly decreased though repassivation was observed in specimens aged at 875 °C for times up to 8 h.     

Numerical simulations study of the localized corrosion resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel and pure titanium in a simulated body fluid environment

The resistance of both AISI 316L stainless steel (AISI 316L SS) and commercially pure titanium (cpTi) to localized corrosion in a simulated body fluid solution was investigated using numerical simulations. The resulting model, based on transport equations in dilute solutions, is designed to predict the susceptibility of these two biomaterials to crevice corrosion initiation. The results show that cpTi and AISI 316L SS alloy are very resistant to the initiation of crevice corrosion in 0.9% NaCl solution and AISI 316L SS alloy is more susceptible to corrosion initiation over the long term than cpTi.     

The Effect of Time and Temperature of Nitridation-Oxidation Process on Properties and Corrosion Resistance of AISI 316L Steel

In this research, AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel has been subjected to plasma nitriding and oxidation- nitridation heat treatment at several temperatures for different times. Plasma nitriding of the samples was performed in N₂/H₂ = 1/3 atmosphere at temperatures of 425, 450, and 475°C for 5 h. To study the effects of the combined nitridation-oxidation process on mechanical and physical properties, the samples have been exposed in O₂/H₂ = 1/5 oxidating atmosphere at 425, 450, and 500°C for 15, 30, and 60 min, respectively. The mechanical and physical properties of the samples were studied after nitridation-oxidation heat treatment. The microstructural properties were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy; the phases were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The wear behavior of the oxidized-nitrided samples was studied using pin-on-disk tribotesting. The hardness and depth of the nitrided layer were measured by a Vickers hardness tester. The corrosion resistance of both untreated and treated samples was tested by the Tafel polarization and potentiodynamic polarization in 3.5% NaCl solution at ambient temperature. The results indicate that the combined nitridation-oxidation heat treatment improves both the pitting corrosion and wear resistances of AISI 316L steel and further increases its hardness.     

Improvement of corrosion and wear resistances of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel using plasma nitriding at low temperature

The influence of low temperature plasma nitriding on the wear and corrosion resistance of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel was investigated. Plasma nitriding experiments were carried out with DC-pulsed plasma in 25% N₂ + 75% H₂ atmosphere at 350 °C, 450 °C and 550 °C for 15 h. The composition, microstructure and hardness of the nitrided samples were examined. The wear resistances of plasma nitrided samples were determined with a ball-on-disc wear tester. The corrosion behaviors of plasma nitrided AISI420 stainless steel were evaluated using anodic polarization tests and salt fog spray tests in the simulated industrial environment.The results show that plasma nitriding produces a relatively thick nitrided layer consisting of a compound layer and an adjacent nitrogen diffusion layer on the AISI 420 stainless steel surface. Plasma nitriding not only increases the surface hardness but also improves the wear resistance of the martensitic stainless steel. Furthermore, the anti-wear property of the steel nitrided at 350 °C is much more excellent than that at 550 °C. In addition, the corrosion resistance of AISI420 martensitic stainless steel is considerably improved by 350 °C low temperature plasma nitriding. The improved corrosion resistance is considered to be related to the combined effect of the solid solution of Cr and the high chemical stable phases of ?-Fe₃N and α_N formed on the martensitic stainless steel surface during 350 °C low temperature plasma nitriding. However, plasma nitriding carried out at 450 °C or 550 °C reduces the corrosion resistance of samples, because of the formation of CrN and leading to the depletion of Cr in the solid solution phase of the nitrided layer.     

Corrosion behaviour of carbon S-phase created on Ni-free biomedical stainless steel

Following the success of forming a carbon S-phase (expanded austenite) surface layer on medical grade Ni-free austenitic stainless steel by DC plasma carburising, the established commercial carburising process Kolsterising® was performed on both Ni-containing (AISI 304) and Ni-free austenitic stainless steels. While the Ni-containing stainless steel responded very well to Kolsterising®, the Ni-free alloy did not. The carbon absorption and the hardness of the Kolsterised® Ni-free alloy are inferior to Kolsterised® AISI 304 Ni-containing stainless steel, however, the hardness of the untreated Ni-free alloy was doubled by Kolsterising®. The response of both Kolsterised® Ni-free and Ni-containing alloys to pitting, crevice corrosion and intergranular corrosion resistance was similar. From this work it can be concluded that the Kolsterised® austenitic stainless steels do not suffer from intergranular corrosion but are susceptible to intragranular pitting when tested in boiling sulphuric acid and copper sulphate solution. It was also observed that Kolsterising® improves significantly the pitting and crevice corrosion resistance of the alloys used in this study.     

Corrosion behaviour of low temperature plasma carburised 316L stainless steel in chloride containing solutions

The electrochemical corrosion behaviour of the carburised (expanded austenite) layer on 316L austenitic stainless steel produced by low temperature plasma carburising has been studied in 0.5 M NaCl and 0.5 M HCl + 0.5 M NaCl solutions. The present work focuses on the variation of the corrosion behaviour of the carburised layer with depth from the surface and the effect of carbon concentration on electrochemical behaviour. The results show that the carburised layer has excellent resistance to localised corrosion. There exists a critical carbon concentration, above which the expanded austenite possesses excellent resistance to both metastable pit formation and pit growth.     

气压对904L奥氏体不锈钢低温离子渗氮组织与耐蚀性能的影响

通过辉光离子低温渗氮对904L超级奥氏体不锈钢(904Lss)进行表面改性处理,采用扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、电化学方法等研究了渗氮后试样的表面形貌、显微组织结构、硬度以及耐蚀性能。结果表明:100 Pa渗氮后的试样形成了强化相γN相,大大提高了904L不锈钢试样的表面硬度,高达1400 HV0.1;150 Pa渗氮后的试样产生了强氮化物CrN,其耐蚀性远远低于原始904L奥氏体不锈钢。     

Effect of Mo and Mn additions on the corrosion behaviour of AISI 304 and 316 stainless steels in H2SO4

The work addresses the influence of Mn and Mo additions on corrosion resistance of AISI 304 and 316 stainless steels in 30 wt.% H₂SO₄ at 25 and 50 °C. Corrosion mechanism was determined by gravimetric tests, DC polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The morphology and nature of the reaction products formed on the material surface were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Reduction of temperature from 50 to 25 °C drastically decreased the corrosion rate of AISI 304 and 316 stainless steels in sulphuric acid solution. Mn additions did not affect significantly the general corrosion resistance due to its low ability to form insoluble compounds in acid medium. Meanwhile, the formation of molybdenum insoluble oxides enhanced the corrosion performance.     

The influence of Mn compared to that of Cr,Mo and S on the resistance to initiation of pitting and crevice corrosion in austenitic stainless steels

A large number of production and laboratory heats in grades AISI 304 and 316 with normal and extremely low managanese and sulphur contents and a number of production heats in more highly alloyed austenitic stainless steels have been studied with regard to their resistance to initiation of pitting and crevice corrosion at various temperatures. The criteria for resistance to initiation was the potentiodynamic pitting potential in 0.1 M NaCl and synthetic seawater and the time to attack initiation for crevice corrosion in 0.5 and 5% NaCl solutions. A large number of production and laboratory heats in grades AISI 304 and 316 with normal and extremely low managanese and sulphur contents and a number of production heats in more highly alloyed austenitic stainless steels have been studied with regard to their resistance to initiation of pitting and crevice corrosion at various temperatures. The critieria for resistance to initiation was the potentiodynamic pitting potential in 0.1 M NaCl and synthetic seawater and the time to attack initiation for crevice corrosion in 0.5 and 5% NaCl solutions. The main aims of the study were to examine both the effect of manganese relative to that of chromium, molybdenum and sulphur and the effect of heat treatment and sulphide composition on steels with low manganese contents. Mathematical models for calculation of the pitting potentials have been constructed and multiple linear regression analysis gave the equations and their reliabilities. Lowering of the Mn content in austenitic stainless steels to 0.2% gives rise to a material of interest for constructions where pitting or crevice corrosion are judged to be the only potential types of attack, where operational disturbances leading to greatly increased corrosivity do not occur, where attack can not be tolerated, and where steel with normal managanese content has not exhibited fully satisfactory corrosion resistance. If the above conditions are fulfilled the low manganese content can be said to correspond to the same positive effect as is obtained by an addition of the least 1.5% Mo.     

Plasma nitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel with pre-shot peening

AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was plasma nitrided at the temperature ranging from 410 to 520 °C with pre-shot peening. The structural phases, micro-hardness and electrochemical behavior of the nitrided layer were investigated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, micro-hardness testing and anodic polarization testing. The effects of shot peening on the nitride formation, nitride layer growth and corrosion properties were discussed. The results showed that shot peening enhanced the nitrogen diffusion rate and led to a twice thicker nitrided layer than the un-shot peening samples under the same plasma nitriding conditions (410 °C, 4 h). The nitrided layer was composed of single nitrogen expanded austenite (S-phase) when nitriding below 480 °C, which had combined improvement in hardness and corrosion resistance.     

Corrosion and mechanical properties of duplex-treated 301 stainless steel

Plasma nitriding is a widely used technique for increasing the surface hardness of stainless steels, and consequently, for improving their tribological properties. It is also used to create an interface between soft stainless steel substrates and hard coatings to improve adhesion. This paper reports on the mechanical and corrosion properties of AISI301 stainless steel (SS) after a duplex treatment consisting of plasma nitriding followed by deposition of Cr bond coat and CrSiN top layer by magnetron sputtering. Mechanical properties of the deposited films, such as hardness (H) and reduced Young's modulus (E_r), were measured using depth-sensing indentation. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out to evaluate resistance to localized and to general corrosion, respectively. The corrosion behavior has been correlated with the microstructure and composition of the surface layers, determined by complementary characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, and EDS. The CrSiN layers exhibited an H value of 24 GPa, whereas the nitrided layer was shown to present a gradual increase of H from 5 GPa (in the nitrogen-free SS matrix) to almost 14 GPa at the surface. The electrochemical measurements showed that the nitriding temperature is a critical parameter for defining the corrosion properties of the duplex-treated SS. At a relatively high temperature (723 K), the nitrided layer exhibited poor corrosion resistance due to the precipitation of chromium nitride compounds and the depletion of Cr in the iron matrix. This, in turn, leads to poor corrosion performance of the duplex-treated SS since pores and defects in the CrSiN film were potential sites for pitting. At relatively low nitriding temperature (573 K), the nitrided interface exhibited excellent corrosion resistance due to the formation of a compound-free diffusion layer. This is found to favor passivation of the material at the electrode/electrolyte interface of the duplex-treated SS.     

Investigations on the Corrosion Behaviour and Structural Characteristics of Low Temperature Nitrided and Carburised Austenitic Stainless Steel

The wear resistance of austenitic stainless steels can be improved by thermo-chemical surface treatment with nitrogen and carbon. However, it is possible that the corrosion resistance will be impaired by the precipitation of chromiumnitrid or -carbide. The present contribution deals with investigations of the corrosion behaviour and structural characteristics of a low temperature nitrided and carburised austenitic stainless steel.The material investigated was AISI 316L (X2CrNiMol7-12-2) austenitic stainless steel. A commercial plasma-nitriding unit (pulsed dc) was used for the nitriding and carburising process. Additional samples were treated by the gasoxinitriding process for a comparison between plasma- and gasoxinitriding. The nitrided and carburised layer of austenitic stainless steel consists of the nitrogen or carbon S-phase (expanded austenite), respectively. X-ray diffraction investigations show the typical shift of the peaks to lower angles, indicating expansion of the fcc lattice. Also the X-ray diffraction technique was employed to study the residual stresses in the nitrogen and carbon S-phase. The corrosion behaviour of surface engineered samples was investigated with electrochemical methods. Anodic potentiodynamic polarisation curves were recorded for testing the resistance against general corrosion (in H2SO4) and pitting corrosion (in NaCl).     

An experimental study of crevice corrosion behaviour of 316L stainless steel in artificial seawater

The effects of applied torque on corrosion behaviour of 316L stainless steel with crevices were investigated using the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization method. Three kinds of crevices (316L-to-polytetrafluoroethylene, 316L-to-fluoroelastomeric and 316L-to-316L) were tested in artificial seawater at 50 °C. Corroded surface morphology was also investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate similar trends in crevice corrosion susceptibility with increasing applied torque. Among the three crevices, the 316L stainless steel specimen, coupled to the 316L stainless steel crevice former, is the most susceptible to crevice corrosion.     

Pitting corrosion behaviour of PM austenitic stainless steels sintered in nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere

PM 304L and 316L stainless steel have been compacted at 400, 600 and 800 MPa and sintered in vacuum and in nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere. Postsintered heat treatments (annealing solution and ageing at 375, 675 and 875 °C) have been applied. Pitting corrosion resistance has been studied using anodic polarization measurements and the ferric chloride test. Anodic polarization curves reveal that densities and atmospheres are relevant on anodic behaviour. Pitting resistance is higher for PM 316L and for higher densities and vacuum as sintered atmosphere. Ageing heat treatments at medium and high temperatures are detrimental to passivity although susceptibility to pitting corrosion barely changes. But heat treatments at 375 °C even show certain improvement in pitting corrosion resistance. The results were correlated to the presence of precipitates and mainly to the lamellar constituent which appears in some samples sintered in nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere. The role of nitrogen on the samples sintered under nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere and its relation to the microstructural features was described.     

Corrosion behaviour of duplex stainless steels sintered in nitrogen

Duplex stainless steels obtained through powder metallurgy (PM) technology from austenitic AISI 316L and ferritic AISI 430L powders were mixed on different amounts to obtain biphasic structures with austenite/ferrite ratio of 50/50, 65/35 and 85/15. Prepared mixes of powders have been compacted at 750 MPa and sintered in N₂-H₂ (95% and 5%) at 1250 °C for 1 h. Corrosion behaviour, using electrochemical techniques such as anodic polarization measurement, cyclic anodic polarization scan and electrochemical potentio-kinetic reactivation test and double loop electrochemical potentio-kinetic reactivation double loop test were evaluated. For duplex stainless steels, when austenite/ferrite ratio increases the corrosion potential shifts to more noble potential and passive current density decreases. The beneficial effect of annealing solution heat treatment on corrosion behaviour was established and was compared with corrosion behaviour of vacuum sintered duplex stainless steels. The results were correlated with the microstructural features.     

Effect of heating post-treatment on nitrided stainless steel

Although plasma nitriding has been applied successfully to increase the hardness of austenitic stainless steels, the process cycles are long due to the low nitrogen diffusion rate for these steels. An alternative to reduce the nitriding time is to perform a heating treatment after nitriding to prolong the diffusion process. In this work we investigate the properties of plasma nitrided AISI 316 stainless steel after heating post-treatments. The samples were nitrided at 823 K during 3 h. After nitriding, heating post-treatments were performed in a vacuum furnace. The influence of the heating time, ranging from 1 up to 16 h, and heating temperatures, varying from 732 up to 873 K, on the surface properties was investigated. The samples were characterized using microhardness testing, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The nitriding treatment results in a compound layer 44 μm thick with a hardness of 1434 HV_0.1, consisting predominantly of γ'-[Fe₄N] and CrN phases. As expected, an increase of the compound layer thickness and a decrease of the surface hardness with heating time were observed. However, the microhardness profiles show that beneath the surface the layer hardness increases for long treatment times. New phases as Fe₃O₄ and FeCr₂O₄ appear and grow with increasing heating time.     

The wear and corrosion properties of stainless steel nitrided by low-pressure plasma-arc source ion nitriding at low temperatures

Low pressure plasma arc discharge-assisted nitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel is a process that produces surface layers with useful properties such as a high surface hardness of approximately 1500 Hv_0.1 and a high resistance to frictional wear and corrosion. The phase composition, the thickness, the microstructure and the surface topography of the nitrided layer, as well as its properties, depend essentially on the process parameters. Among them, the processing temperature is the most important factor for forming a hard layer with good wear and corrosion resistance. Nitriding austenitic stainless steel at approximately 420°C for 70 min can produce a thin layer of 7–8 μm with very high hardness and good corrosion resistance on the surface. The microstructure was studied by optical microscopy and both glancing angle and conventional Bragg–Brentano (θ–2θ) symmetric geometry X-ray diffraction (XRD). The formation of expanded austenite was observed. Measurements of the wear depths indicated that the wear resistance of austenitic stainless steel can be improved greatly by nitriding at approximately 420°C using low-pressure plasma-arc source ion nitriding.     

循环N/C/O/S离子共渗对316Ti钢组织及耐腐蚀性的影响

采用常规离子渗氮、循环离子渗氮、循环N/C/O共渗及循环N/C/O/S共渗四种不同工艺分别对316Ti不锈钢铆钉进行处理,并对试样进行表征,分析了循环渗氮工艺及共渗元素C,O和S对316Ti钢渗层组织及耐腐蚀性的影响。结果表明:与常规离子渗氮相比,循环渗氮的试样渗层更深,耐腐蚀性基本不变;N/C/O共渗中,C和O元素的加入有利于提高渗层深度并抑制CrN的析出,降低基体表面贫Cr程度,提高处理后试样的耐腐蚀性;共渗介质中加入S元素,会降低共渗试样的耐腐蚀性。