저널

The response of AISI 310 type austenitic stainless steel to the novel low temperature plasma carburizing process has been investigated in this work. This grade of stainless steel shows better corrosion resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance due to its high chromium and nickel content. In this experiment, plasma carburizing was performed on AISI 310 stainless steel in a D.C. pulsed plasma ion nitriding system at different temperatures in $H_2-Ar-CH_4$ gas mixtures. The working pressure was 4 Torr (533Pa approx.) and the applied voltage was 600 V during the plasma carburizing treatment. The hardness of the samples was measured by using a Vickers micro hardness tester with the load of 100 g. The phase of carburized layer formed on the surface was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The resultant carburized layer was found to be precipitation free and resulted in significantly improved hardness and corrosion resistance.

AISI 310 Austenitic Stainless Steel;Plasma Carburizing;Hardness;Corrosion Resistance;