Formation of Expanded Austenite on a Cold-Sprayed AISI 316L Coating by Low-Temperature Plasma Nitriding

Low-temperature plasma nitriding at temperatures below 450 °C is commonly applied to austenitic stainless steels to enhance wear resistance, while maintaining corrosion resistance, by forming expanded austenite (known as the S-phase). In this work, low-temperature plasma nitriding of cold-sprayed AISI 316L coatings was examined. A cold-spray technique was developed to produce metal coatings with less oxidation. However, the cold-sprayed AISI 316L coating obtained by use of nitrogen gas as propellant contained many interconnected pores and cracks, and was, consequently, unsuitable as an anticorrosive coating. Therefore, laser post-treatment was used to modify the coating and increase its density to similar to that of bulk steel. The anticorrosive performance of this coating on a carbon steel substrate in NaCl solution was substantially improved. Subsequent low-temperature plasma nitriding enhanced the wear resistance by two orders of magnitude. It is concluded that cold-sprayed AISI 316L coatings treated by laser post-treatment and subsequent low-temperature plasma nitriding could be used as protective coatings under severe wear and corrosion conditions.