Sliding wear of 304 and 310 stainless steels

Blocks of 304 (metastable) and 310 (stable) austenitic stainless steels were tested in argon against M2 tool steel rings. Scanning, transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis, together with microhardness measurements, showed that the strain-induced martensite transformation in 304 steel affects the form and composition of the wear debris and the nature of the transfer layer. The hardness of the transfer layer relative to the hardness of the adjacent deformed base material is also important, as shown in earlier work on Cu-Be. During early stages of sliding, the friction values for both alloys are similar, but whereas the friction continues to rise smoothly to a steady state value for 310 steel, the formation of α'-martensite in 304 steel gives a lower average value of friction coefficient with large fluctuations.