Friction and wear behaviors of nanocrystalline surface layer of medium carbon steel

A nanocrystalline (nc) surface layer, which is about 30 μm thick, was fabricated on a medium carbon steel plate using high-energy shot peening (HESP). The tribological behavior of the nanocrystalline surface layer was investigated under the unlubricated slide using a ring-on-disc tester. The observation of the surface topography shows that the nanocrystalline surface layer may reduce the effect of fatigue wear and improve the friction and wear properties of medium carbon steel. Experimental results show that the friction coefficient and wear weight loss decrease and the wear resistance increases with the surface nanocrystallized samples under lower loads.