Effect of supersonic fine particle bombardment on microstructure evolution and tribological properties of GCr15SiMn bearing steel

The surface of GCr15SiMn bearing steel was strengthened by supersonic fine particle bombardment (SFPB), and the effects of different impact times on the microstructure, mechanical properties and friction and wear properties of the material were studied. The results show that the surface roughness of GCr15SiMn steel samples increases and the grain is refined after SFPB. As the impact time prolongs, the grain size gradually decreases. When the bombardment time is 180 s, the surface grain size of the sample reaches 12.7 nm. The microhardness of the sample gradually increases and tends to stabilize with the increase of the impact time. The residual compressive stress layer is produced on the surface of the sample after SFPB and the residual compressive stress shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with rising the impact time. The friction coefficient and wear rate of GCr15SiMn bearing steel decreases after SFPB. The wear mechanism of the sample changes from mixture of adhesive wear and oxidation wear, accompanied by slight abrasive wear (before SFPB) to the abrasive wear, supplemented by adhesive wear (after SFPB). The wear resistance is improved by the of the grain refinement and the formation of a high residual compressive stress layer.