Effects of multiple treatments of low-temperature colossal supersaturation on tribological characteristics of austenitic stainless steels

An alternative carburization process, low-temperature colossal supersaturation (LTCSS), has demonstrated significant improvement on both wear- and corrosion-resistance for austenitic stainless steel surfaces in recent literature. This study explores the effects of multiple treatments of LTCSS on tribological characteristics for Type 316 stainless steel. Thicker carburized layers were produced by multiple LTCSS treatments, with 30, 45, and 55 μm for one, two, and four treatments, respectively. Although the hardness remains unchanged at low-load microindentation, multiple treatments have showed higher values in both microindentation and scratch hardness tests when deeper penetrations occurred under heavier loads. The friction and wear characteristics of Type 316 stainless steel with multiple LTCSS treatments were evaluated in non-lubricated unidirectional sliding (pin-on-disk) against Type 440C stainless steel. While little change was observed on friction behavior, substantial further improvement on wear-resistance has been achieved for the multiple treatments. In addition, the wear of the counterface was also largely reduced when rubbing against a multiply treated surface.