Open-atmosphere Laser Nitriding of Austenitic Steels to Form Wear-Resistant Surfaces

This study presents an interesting result based on the laser beam irradiation of austenitic steels in an open atmosphere, which enables the formation of a surface layer comprising a nitrogen solid solution rather than an oxide. First, a focused nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam with a laser energy of 400 mJ·pulse−1 was used to irradiate an AISI 316 stainless steel. This formed a surface layer of ~3 μm thickness with ~12 at.% nitrogen solid solution, thereby enhancing the hardness of the AISI 316 stainless steel surface to ~380 HV, nearly twice that of the untreated surface. Consequently, wear resistance was improved by preventing plastic deformation and abrasive wear. Thereafter, similar laser beam irradiation of Inver42® and Kovar® steels resulted in the formation of nitrogen solid solution layers with a thickness of ~1.5 μm, which is lower than that of AISI 316 steel. Furthermore, their nitrogen contents were reduced to ~6 at.%. Consequently, the improvement in the surface hardness of the Inver42® and Kovar® steels was less than that of the AISI 316 stainless steel. These differences were attributed to their alloy compositions; for instance, Cr, which has a high affinity for nitrogen, might trap the available nitrogen, thereby contributing to an increase in the nitrogen content.