Effect of Al Addition on the Surface Nitrogen Permeation Treatment of 13%Cr Stainless Steels

13%Cr 스테인리스강의 표면 질소침투처리에 미치는 Al첨가의 영향

The surface nitrogen permeation of Al alloyed 0.14%C-13%Cr stainless steels was investigated after heat treating at $1050^{\circ}C{\sim}1150^{\circ}C$ in the nitrogen gas atmosphere. The strong affinity between Al and nitrogen permeates the nitrogen through the interior of the steels. Two precipitates of round type and needle type are observed at the surface layer. These precipitates mainly consist of AlN containing plenty of aluminum. The surface layer of 0.53%Al alloyed specimen shows ferrite phase, while the surface layers of 1.65%Al and 2.27%Al alloyed specimens appear ${\gamma}$ plus ${\alpha}$ phases. The depth of nitrogen permeation depends upon the Al content and microstructure of the matrix. The 1.65%Al alloyed specimen representing ${\alpha}+{\gamma}$ matrix phases at the nitrogen permeation temperature shows the maximum case depth in this experiment. Although the surface hardness increases by raising the Al content of the specimen owing to the increase of nitride precipitation density, the nitride precipitation deteriorates the corrosion resistance in the solution of HCl, $H_2SO_4$, and $FeCl_3$.