Cr atom diffusion in tribolayer T10 steel induced by dry sliding against 20CrMnTi steel

Compositions and microstructures of sliding friction induced deformation layer (SFIDL) of T10 steel pins against 20CrMnTi steel disks were studied by SIMS and TEM. It is found that Cr element in 20CrMnTi steel disk diffused into the SFIDL of T10 steel pin. Frictional contact temperature was analyzed by finite element method (FEM), which was in the range of 395–499 K. The diffusion activation energy of Cr in the SFIDL of T10 steel is 97.54 kJ/mol, which is much smaller than that in the coarse-grained Fe (241 kJ/mol). The atomic diffusion phenomenon is thought to be the simultaneous and recursive actions of (i) grain refinement in the SFIDLs, (ii) temperature rise on the contact surfaces.