Effect of annealing temperature on hardness, thickness and phase structure of carbonitrided 304 stainless steel

Carbonitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was performed at a plasma-processing power of 450 W using inductively coupled radio frequency (rf) plasma in a gas mixture of 50% N-2 and 50% C2H2. The rate of carbonitriding, microhardness, phase structure of the compound layer, surface microstructure and cross-section morphology were studied before and after the annealing process. At the annealing temperature up to 800A degrees C, the microhardness values of the compound zones decrease, while the associated values of the diffused zones increase. Little change was found in the thickness of the compound and diffused zones when the carbonitrided samples were annealed up to 400A degrees C. However, at a higher annealing temperature, the thicknesses of both zones increase. The gamma-Fe austenite is the main crystalline phase that can be detected by X-ray diffraction. As the annealing temperature increases up to 500A degrees C, X-ray spectra show alpha-Fe and Fe5C2 phases. Nitrogen diffuses more deeply from the near surface to the interior of the treated sample as the annealing temperature increases up to 800A degrees C and this might explain the extent of carbonitrided thickness and the enhanced microhardness of the diffused zone.