Effect of the parameters of low-temperature glow-discharge assisted nitriding on the properties of sintered austenitic stainless steel AISI316L

摘要

The paper presents comparative results of examinations of microstructure and properties of the nitrided layers produced on sintered 316L austenitic stainless steel by low-temperature glow-discharge assisted nitriding with the samples placed on the cathode or in the plasma region (active screen glow-discharge nitriding). It has been shown that in this process a change of the polarization parameters affects essentially the thickness, surface topography, chemical composition, and phase composition of the nitrided layers produced on the sintered 316L steel samples, thereby affecting their corrosion resistance. The low-temperature glow-discharge nitriding of sintered 316 steel samples, irrespective of whether placed on the cathode or in the plasma region, appeared to increase significantly the corrosion resistance.