Behaviour of sintered 410 low carbon steels towards ion nitriding

Sintered stainless steel samples (AISI 410, low carbon, 6.45 and 6.8 g cm(-3) density) have been subjected to ion nitriding at 590 degrees C under different N-2/H-2 mixes and for different times. Investigations have been carried out by means of metallographic techniques, electron probe microanalysis, XRD, hardness and microhardness measurements. The hardness values show that current sintering in industrial conditions originate some scattering of physical properties. The hardness and microhardness gradients show a very limited influence of material density, confirming the suitability of ion nitriding to porous steels. Features and behaviour of the nitrided layers were explained on the basis of the different processing conditions. A more complete survey will analyse the wear and corrosion resistance of AISI 410 sintered and ion nitrided specimens.