Effect of cathodic hydrogenation on the mechanical properties of AISI 304 stainless steel nitrided by ion implantation, glow discharge and plasma immersion ion implantation

Hydrogen embrittlement in austenitic stainless steels is restricted to the surface due to the low hydrogen diffusion in austenitic structures. The effect of three different nitriding processes: ion implantation (II), plasma immersion ion implantation (PI3) and glow discharge (GD), on the mechanical and structural properties of cathodically hydrogenated AISI 304 stainless steel were studied in the present work. Cathodic hydrogenation was made on untreated and nitrided samples. Surface microstructure after nitriding and hydrogenation was investigated by X-ray diffraction. Mechanical properties were measured by instrumented indentation. Surface crack formation and hardness decrease was observed in non-nitrided samples after cathodic hydrogenation. Hardness of nitrided samples decreases after hydrogen degassing but still has values higher than untreated samples. Comparative analysis of nitriding processes and working conditions indicated that glow discharge plasma nitriding process at 400 °C or 450 °C is the most adequate to avoid crack formation in steel surface after cathodic hydrogenation.