The internal-nitriding behavior of 310 stainless steel with and without Al and Ti additions

The internal-nitriding behavior in ammonia-hydrogen atmospheres of type-310 stainless steel and 310 to which either 2 wt.% Ti or 3 wt.% Al were added was studied over the range of 550–950°C. An Fe-24Cr binary alloy was included to assess the role of a BCC crystal structure vs the FCC crystal structure of 310 stainless steel. The BCC alloy exhibited the most rapid kinetics as expected. X-ray diffraction showed only the presence of CrN in all the alloys up to 735°C. At 850°C and above, both CrN and Cr₂N were detected. The nonformation of TiN and AlN at lower temperatures is attributed to nucleation problems. Precipitates were extremely fine (unresolvable even at 20,000×) at 563°C and became much coarser with increasing temperature. The precipitate density, size, and shape varied across the internal-nitriding zone at the higher temperatures. External scaling was noted at 850°C and above, however, it was not a continuous film. The activation energy of internal nitriding from 563–735°C ranged from 3.8 kcal/mol for 310+2Ti to 18.2 kcal/mol for 310+3Al; from 850–950°C, the activation energy ranged from 44 (310+2Ti) to 56.6 kcal/mol (310+3Al). Microhardness profiles show that an intermediate zone exists between the nitride case and the base metal. The origin of this zone is discussed.