Improving the surface durability of patterned AISI 316LM steels by nitriding treatment for dry friction sliding

In this study, different configurations of hard micro-patterns on AISI 316LM samples are obtained by a dry etching step followed by plasma nitriding. A “ball-on-plane” tribometer was used for low velocity reciprocal dry friction tests in order to characterise the influence of configurations on asperity lifetime, friction coefficient and wear mechanisms. The distance between asperities plays a key role in friction and wear behaviours by acting on...