Assessment of Cavitation-Erosion Resistance of 316LN Stainless Steel Following a Nitro-Carburizing Surface Treatment

Technical Report · Sun Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/971593· OSTI ID:971593

Pawel, Steven J ^[1]

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1. ORNL

A nitro-carburizing surface treatment known domestically as the Melonite process was applied to type 316LN stainless steel test pieces and exposed to sonication conditions in mercury using a vibratory horn technique. Cavitation-erosion damage was evaluated for extended exposures and compared to other surface treatments on the same substrate alloy. The results indicate that the Melonite process substantially retards weight loss and crater development for extended periods, but gradually is eroded/destroyed leading to exposure of the substrate and cavitation-erosion behavior similar to untreated specimens. Compared with other surface treatments, cavitation-erosion results indicate that specimens treated with Melonite perform similarly to specimens treated with a simple nitriding process. Neither the simple nitriding nor the Melonite treatment is quite as effective as a previously evaluated low temperature carburizing treatment, the latter being about a factor of three better than Melonite in terms of weight loss during sonication in mercury.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Spallation Neutron Source
• Sponsoring Organization: SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 971593
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-2009/287; KC0402010; ERKCSND
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
MERCURY
STAINLESS STEELS
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE TREATMENTS