On nitrogen diffusion during solution treatment in a high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

The generation and microstructural characteristics of the surface layer formed during solution treatment at 1200 degrees C of a high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel, have been investigated using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Contrasting with a bulk microstructure of austenite and ferrite, a multi-layer surface structure is obtained, which consists of a white outer-surface layer which is ferrite and a grey subsurface layer with austenite. Formation of the multi-layer structure occurs through phase transformations between austenite and ferrite due to the various levels of nitrogen diffusion. With increasing solution treatment time, the thicknesses of both the surface and the subsurface layer increase. Hardness tests show that the microhardness increases from the surface layer, to the subsurface layer and then to the bulk. This is attributed to the combined effects of solid solution strengthening from nitrogen and the grain size of austenite or ferrite. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.