Effect of processing temperatures on characteristics of surface layers of low temperature plasma nitrocarburized AISI 204Cu austenitic stainless steel
(Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Dongeui University, Busan 614-714, Korea)
Abstract: The influence of processing temperatures on the surface characteristics of AISI 204Cu austenitic stainless steel was investigated during a low temperature plasma nitrocarburizing. The resultant layer was a dual-layer structure, which comprises a N-enriched layer on the top of C-enriched layer. The surface hardness and the layer thickness increase up to about HV0.05 1000 and 20 μm with increasing temperature. The specimen treated at 400 °C shows a much enhanced corrosion resistance compared to the untreated steel. A loss in corrosion resistance was observed for specimens treated at temperatures above 430 °C due to the formation of Cr2N.
Key words: low temperature plasma nitrocarburizing; corrosion resistance; expanded austenite; AISI 204Cu stainless steel; hardness.