Substantiating the Process Parameters of Frictional Treatment with a Sliding Indenter for an Austenitic Chromium-Nickel Steel

Based on the study of the interaction in the “indenter—steel” contact zone, the choice of process parameters of the frictional treatment with a sliding indenter, namely, indenter material, load, and process medium, was carried out and substantiated for the 12Cr18Ni10Ti austenitic steel. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive microanalysis, optical profilometry and microhardness measurement are used as methods of investigation. It has been discovered that the choice of the process parameters of frictional treatment with a sliding indenter must be carried out taking into account mass transfer of the steel onto the indenter surface. The combination of significant strain hardening and low surface roughness was employed as a criterion for stating the advantages of using a synthetic diamond indenter and a noncorrosive argon environment over using natural diamond (conventional diamond burnishing), WC–Co hard alloy, and dense boron nitride indenters in the presence of a lubricating and cooling liquid. In the case of a synthetic diamond indenter and a noncorrosive argon environment, microhardness increased from 220 to 590–685 HV0.025, with a surface roughness of Ra = 0.075–0.115 μm. In the other cases, microhardness increased to 515, 635, and 660 HV0.025, with a surface roughness of Ra = 0.060, 0.380, and 0.255 μm, respectively.