Comparison of Cavitation-Erosion Resistance of Carburized and Carburized-Plus-Nitrided 316LN Stainless Steel in Mercury

Annealed type 316LN stainless steel in the (1) carburized and the (2) carburized plus nitrided conditions was evaluated for cavitation-erosion resistance in ambient temperature mercury using a vibratory horn method. The results indicated that, relative to the specimens receiving only the carburizing treatment, the specimens that received both surface treatments exhibited substantially greater weight loss, general thinning, and profile development as a function of sonication time - with all observed degradation limited to the nitrided layer. Further, the nitride layer was observed to be susceptible to extensive cracking (occasionally leading to spallation), but the cracking was never observed to penetrate into the carburized layer. These screening test results suggest there is no improvement in cavitation-erosion resistance associated with augmentation of the carburizing treatment with plasma nitriding.