Effect of Cold Forming on Low‐Temperature Plasma Nitriding and Carburizing Characteristics of Austenitic Stainless Steel

Abstract The cold‐rolled specimen of AISI304 and AISI316 were plasma nitrided and carburized at low temperature, and the S‐phase layers formed on the surface were investigated. In nitriding on AISI304 and AISI316, the thicknesses of the nitrided layers increased with an increase in rolling reduction. In plasma carburizing, on both steels, the thicknesses of the carburized layers were almost unchanged as the rolling reduction increased. In the nitriding, the growth of the S‐phase layer was accelerated by the deformation structure. However, in the carburizing, the growth of S‐phase layer was almost constant as the rolling reduction increased.