ENHANCING MECHANICAL AND CORROSION RESISTANCE OF AISI 304 STAINLESS STEEL WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF ROLLING AND USING PLASMA NITRIDING

Due to its good corrosion resistance and ductility, 304 stainless steel (304 SS) is a material of choice for various applications. However, its hardness and wear resistance are often not low enough to cater to the demands of highly demanding fields. It is possible to upgrade these characteristics and the life and performance of the parts processed from this material using an established technique, plasma nitriding. This study made a significant contribution to the field by examining the impact of plasma nitriding on 304 SS samples subjected to different degrees of prior rolling, ranging from 0% to 50%. The authors sought to deepen their knowledge of the role of this premodification in nitrogen uptake, the formation of the nitrided phase, and, consequently, the mechanical properties. The characterization methods included X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Vickers microhardness, and corrosion resistance tests. The resultant findings confirmed a priori the necessity for a pre-rolling forming pre-treatment of the steel to modify its microstructure and, as a result, the efficiency of the plasma nitriding treatment. As determined by the study, a higher rolling degree before nitriding results in a higher number of phases that are generated nitrided, and consequently, a higher hardness, wear, and corrosion resistance of the samples with a higher rolling degree is much improved.