Kolsterising: hardening of austenitic stainless steel

Kolsterising is a diffusion process for improving the tribological properties of austenitic and duplex stainless steels without affecting their corrosion resistance. The technique alters the characteristics of the base material in a thin layer by carbon enrichment in low temperature conditions in a gaseous environment. Three distinct processes have been developed; two for steels subject to different wear exposures and a third specifically for duplex stainless steels. Tribological and other properties of treated specimens are reported.