Open Access Conference Proceedings

The effect of surface treatments on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of most engineering steels is the object of a significant number of studies. It is known that surface machining can affect the steel local mechanical properties and, thus lead to the premature cracking under certain conditions. During surface treatment, significant amount of local shear stress can be imposed into the subsurface area of material. The depth of this locally deformed zone, as well as its properties, can vary according to the treatment conditions. This study is focused on the correlation of microstructure and nanohardness in the 316L austenitic stainless steel with variation of surface treatment conditions.

Keywords: Stainless steel, nanoindentation, hardness, microstructure

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