Wear 263 (2007) 347354

Corrosionerosion behaviour of austenitic and martensitic high nitrogen stainless steels

Diana L opez , Neusa Alonso Falleiros, Andr e Paulo Tschiptschin
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, University of S ao Paulo, Brazil Received 18 August 2006; received in revised form 18 January 2007; accepted 18 January 2007 Available online 23 May 2007

Abstract The corrosionerosion resistance of high nitrogen austenitic and martensitic stainless steels (HNSS) has been studied. A high temperature gas nitriding process was used in order to obtain 1.5 mm thick cases with nitrogen contents in solid solution up to 0.5 wt% for the austenitic steel and 0.4 wt% for the martensitic steel. Austenitic and martensitic samples without nitrogen were used as reference materials. The corrosionerosion tests were performed in slurry composed of 3.5% NaCl with 10 wt.% of quartz particles. The impingement velocity and impact angle were xed and the testing temperature was monitored. In order to establish the interactions between corrosion and erosion, we determined electrochemical parameters from potentiodynamic polarization curves in static conditions and under the inuence of a slurry jet. In addition, scanning electron images were used to assess the dominant damage mechanisms and to support the results obtained by electrochemical measurements. The results showed that nitrogen addition improved the corrosionerosion resistance in both stainless steels, owing to the strengthening effect of nitrogen in solid solution and to the increase of repassivation ability of the passive layer. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Corrosionerosion; Slurry wear; Potentiodynamic tests; High nitrogen stainless steels

1. Introduction High nitrogen stainless steels (HNSS) have received a special attention during the last years due to a good combination of strength, ductility, toughness, weldability, localized corrosion resistance and tribological properties [1]. Recent research on the effect of nitrogen in austenitic stainless steels have been focused on the substitution of Ni, grain size renement and improvement of mechanical and corrosion properties, whereas for martensitic steels, the focus is the microstructural renement and a homogeneous distribution of precipitates, intending to obtain better corrosion properties and better high temperature mechanical properties [2]. Different manufacturing routes have been explored to raise the N content of stainless steels. Solid state diffusion has been one of the most investigated and includes thermochemical, implantation, plasma, or laser processes [3,4]. High temperature gas nitriding (HTGN) is one of the diffusion methods, and

Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 11 30915237. E-mail address: dmlopez@usp.br (D. L opez).

consists of annealing a stainless steel in N2 -containing gas atmosphere between 1273 and 1473 K. Atomic nitrogen is absorbed at the surface of the steel and diffuses into the subsurface region. Case thickness from 0.5 to 2.0 mm and nitrogen contents in solid solution at the surface from 0.5 to 1.0 wt% can be obtained after 512 h treatment [1,5]. HTGN stainless steels can combine high hardness and wear resistance with good corrosion properties in several environments; quite different from conventional nitrided parts, usually treated between 750 and 850 K, where intense chromium nitride precipitation occurs, increasing the hardness, but impairing their corrosion resistance. Erosion of valves, turbine blades, bends and pump impellers is a common phenomenon that can lead to failure and/or to high maintenance costs. The interaction of erosion with corrosion could signicantly increase total mass losses due to synergism between mechanical and electrochemical effects. Several works have been published reporting a better performance of HTGN stainless steels in corrosion conditions. Particularly, it has been shown that nitrogen additions improve the resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion of stainless steels in solutions containing chloride ions. Jargelius-Petterson reported a signicant increase in pitting potential in a 20 Cr25

0043-1648/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.wear.2007.01.053

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Ni austenitic stainless steel with nitrogen contents up to 0.2% [6]; Azuma et al. showed that nitrogen decreases the penetration depth in crevice sites [7]. Not many systematic studies of the effect of increasing nitrogen contents on the erosion resistance and on the corrosionerosion synergism of stainless steels were reported. Berns and K uhl [8] improved the erosion resistance of a duplex stainless steel used in pumping applications using a HTGN process. In another work, Berns et al. studied ow corrosion and corrosionerosion in three different high nitrogen stainless steels; they found a signicant increase in erosioncorrosion resistance of austenitic steel, while changes in the duplex stainless steel behaviour were not noticeable with the addition of nitrogen [9]. Garzon and Tschiptschin [5] achieved a much better cavitationerosion resistance in a HTGN duplex stainless steel and Toro et al. [10] found a much better erosioncorrosion resistance of a HTGN AISI 410S in a slurry formed by seawater with quartz particles. The wear synergism was expressed as the difference between the total mass loss and the sum of the individual mass loss for corrosion only and erosion only. In this work, the erosioncorrosion synergism is assessed through potentiodynamic polarization tests performed in a modied electrochemical cell in a slurry environment. Two high temperature gas nitrided high nitrogen steels were studied: one austenitic (AISI 304) and one martensitic (AISI 410). 2. Experimental 2.1. Materials and treatments The chemical compositions of AISI 304 and AISI 410 stainless steels used in this work are shown in Table 1. The samples were gas nitrided at 1473 K during 6 h, under a pressure calculated using the Calphad method and ThermoCalc diagrams (Fig. 1). A 0.15 MPa nitrogen-rich atmosphere was used for nitriding the austenitic samples and 0.4 MPa for the martensitic ones, aiming to obtain approximately 0.5 wt% N in the austenitic steels and 0.4 wt% N in the martensitic ones as shown in Fig. 1. The nitrogen contents at the surface of the nitrided samples were analyzed using WDX chemical analysis in an Oxford WDX600 X-ray spectrometer. AISI 304 samples solubilized at 1373 K during 1 h and quenched and tempered AISI 410 stainless steels were used as comparison materials. The austenitizing treatment of the martensitic steel was carried out at 1273 K during 1 h. All the austenitic samples, with and without nitrogen, were direct quenched in water. All the martensitic samples were oil-quenched and tempered at 473 K during 1 h. Prior to all experiments the samples were mechanically ground with SiC emery paper up to 600 grit and subsequently cleaned and rinsed in an ultrasonic bath.
Table 1 Chemical composition of AISI 304 and AISI 410 stainless steels Steel 410 304 C 0.13 0.040 N (ppm) 121 700 Cr 12.1 19 Ni 0.27 7.2 Mn 0.37 1.5 Si 0.38 0.53 P 0.032 0.035 S 0.026 0.037 Mo 0.22 Nb (ppm) 74

Fig. 1. Calculated phase diagram for (a) AISI 304 and (b) AISI 410 steels in equilibrium with gaseous nitrogen at different pressures.

2.2. Polarization tests The modied electrochemical cell used in this work is schematized in Fig. 2. It consists of a cylindrical glass container with a lateral hole where a hose with a nozzle is introduced. The lid of the container has some holes that allow introducing the electrodes, a thermometer, the other end of the hose and the sample holder. A variable speed peristaltic pump controls the electrolyte injection rate and drives the slurry through a circuit. The corrosion tests were carried out in static 3.5% NaCl solution and under the inuence of a jet of the same solution.

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Fig. 2. Scheme of the slurry erosion equipment. WE: working electrode, CE: counter electrode, RE: reference electrode.

and composed by austenitic grains containing recrystallization twins. The martensitic samples were composed by martensite laths and retained austenite. Fig. 4b shows the microstructure of the nitrided martensitic sample. The microhardness proles and nitrogen contents measured on the cross-section of the nitrided samples are shown in Fig. 5. The maximum hardness obtained in the austenitic samples was 255 HV with nitrogen content of 0.55 wt% and in the martensitic samples 725 HV with 0.4 wt%. It is noticeable that the nitrogen contents measured on the cross-section of the specimens showed a good correlation with the hardness measurements. Case depths were 1.5 mm in both cases according to the NHT criterion.
Fig. 3. Quartz particles used in the slurry.

The corrosionerosion behaviour was tested with the same electrolyte plus 10 wt% of round quartz particles with sizes between 300 and 500 m (Fig. 3). The impact velocity of the jet was 8 m/s, the impact angle was 90 and the particle velocity was assumed to be the same of the jet. The electrochemical measurements were carried out using a Princeton Applied Research potentiostat, model PAR 273, platinum as counter electrode and Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode. Temperature was measured during the tests and maintained between 295 and 298 K. A scanning rate of 1 mV/s was used in all the tests. Scanning was initiated after a 5 min immersion time, starting 100 V below the corrosion potential and ending when the current density was at least 1 103 A. The tests were done in a non-deaerated condition. 2.3. Surface characterization Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the microstructure and topography of the tested specimens. SEM was performed in a Philips XL30 microscope. Microhardness measurements were made in a Buehler equipment with load of 0.1 kgf. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Thermochemical treatments The microstructure of a high temperature nitrided austenitic sample is shown in Fig. 4a. Both the solution-annealed and the nitrided samples had a microstructure free from precipitates

Fig. 4. (a) Microstructure of the nitrided AISI 304 (aqua regia etch). (b) Microstructure of the nitrided AISI 410 (villela etch).

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Fig. 6. Polarization curves for the AISI 304 stainless steel in the nitrided and solution-annealed conditions. Curves for static corrosion in 3.5% NaCl, liquid impingement corrosion (C) and corrosionerosion (CE) in 3.5% NaCl and 10 wt% quartz particles.

Fig. 5. Microhardness proles of gas nitrided (a) AISI 304 and (b) AISI 410 stainless steel.

3.2. Polarization curves Fig. 6 shows the potentiodynamic polarization curves obtained for the AISI 304 steel in the nitrided and solutionannealed condition. Three different curves are presented for each material, corresponding to three different conditions: static corrosion, liquid impingement corrosion (C) and corrosionerosion (CE). It can be seen that the impingement of the electrolyte with a velocity of 8 m/s promotes an increment of current densities in both the nitrided and solution-annealed steels.
Table 2 Electrochemical parameters for AISI 304 stainless steel Material 304 solution-annealed 304 solution-annealed 304 solution-annealed 304N 304N 304N Test condition Static Liquid impingement Corrosionerosion Static Liquid impingement Corrosionerosion

A more signicant increment is noticeable when the jet contains quartz particles. This is evidence that the passive layer that forms on the surface of the stainless steel is being continuously removed by the action of the ow and the presence of solids. The corrosion potential is affected as well, showing that mechanical effects activate the alloy surface increasing the dissolution rate and decreasing the corrosion potential. These parameters do not seem to be modied by nitrogen additions. However, it is worth noticing that pitting potential was clearly increased in the nitrided samples, being in some cases not measurable, due to oxygen evolution at the same potentials. Nitrogen improves the passivation process under liquid impingement corrosion condition. Table 2 shows the corrosion potential, the polarization current resistance and the pitting potential for the six different tested conditions. The polarization resistance was obtained from the slopes of the polarization curves [11]. Fig. 7 shows the polarization curves obtained for the AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel nitrided and non-nitrided, after quenching and tempering. Again, when the specimens are tested in the liquid impingement corrosion condition and in the corrosionerosion condition, one can see a shift of the polarization curves to higher current densities; the corrosion potential becomes more negative, indicating an increase of the chemical reaction rate on the surface, the same way it was observed for the AISI 304 steel. In static corrosion conditions nitrogen additions improve the passivity and the pitting potential. Under liquid impinge-

Corrosion potential Ag/AgCl (V) 0.181 0.243 0.483 0.152 0.252 0.491

Rp (Ohms/cm2 ) 149000 38000 170 193500 48000 123

Pitting potential Ag/AgCl (V) 0.205 0.099 0.091 0.270

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ate stresses on it. Such stresses easily remove the passive layer of defective areas exposing the bare metal and increasing the oxidation process. On the other hand, the introduction of particles had a strong effect on the polarization curves. The corrosion rate increased signicantly because of the effect of the mechanical action of particles on corrosion kinetics; some mechanisms that favour the raise of corrosion such as increase of local turbulence when the particles pass through the boundary layer, the deformation and removal of the passive layer in some areas, and surface roughening, that leads to scratch marks with a low volume to area ratio, allows the steel to be easily corroded. 3.3. Surface analysis
Fig. 7. Polarization curves for the nitrided and non-nitrided quenched and tempered AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel. Curves under static corrosion condition in 3.5% NaCl, liquid impingement corrosion condition in 3.5% NaCl (C) and corrosionerosion (CE) in 3.5% NaCl and 10 wt% quartz particles.

ment corrosion condition, the surface does not show a passive behaviour, and there is only a little change in the curve slope that suggests the existence of a pitting potential. The non-nitrided AISI 410 specimen suffered a little shift to higher current densities and showed a small passive zone, which becomes unstable and allows the dissolution process to start again. The curves for the erosioncorrosion tests show a small increase of the pitting potential as indicated in Table 3. The uid velocity signicantly modies the corrosion resistance of stainless steels, not only due to induced stresses on the surface and mass transfer factors, but also because the passive lm formed in situ during the electrolyte impingement may be different from that formed under static conditions. Some publications report that the velocity enhances the corrosion resistance of passivating materials, owing to a better oxygen transfer through the electrolyte and, as a consequence, a greater oxygen availability to form the passive layer. However, it is not usual to explicitly correlate these results with the geometry of the uid ow eld, which is an important parameter to dene the shear stresses at the surface [12,13]. In this study, we observed a reduction of the pitting and corrosion potential with an increase in velocity. This behaviour could appear from the opposite effects of oxygen transfer and perforation of the passive layer, both associated with the increase of kinetic energy of the ow. The normal impact of a high speed (8 m/s) uid ow can lead to a more efcient transport of oxygen, but can as well facilitate the transport of metallic ions away from the surface and generTable 3 Electrochemical parameters for AISI 410 stainless steel Material 410Q and T 410Q and T 410Q and T 410N 410N 410N Test condition Static Liquid impingement Corrosionerosion Static Liquid impingement Corrosionerosion

Fig. 8 shows the topography of the AISI 304 samples solution-annealed and nitrided after corrosionerosion tests. Both surfaces show heavy plastic deformation with formation of lips and craters. Ploughing is evident in these images. On the other hand, the surface of the solution-annealed specimen seems to be rougher presenting a great number of corroded lips and tracks which are evidences of corrosion augmented by erosion. Smoother wear mark contours on the nitrided surface indicate a favourable effect of nitrogen on the corrosionerosion synergism, enhancing the corrosion resistance of these wear marks, compared to those found on the solution-annealed surface. Cross-sections of the worn surface were observed but it was not possible to see pits formed from the surface in. On the other hand, pits were observed in the solution-annealed specimens tested under static and liquid impingement corrosion conditions as shown in Fig. 9. It is possible that pits are forming during the erosion corrosion tests but they are simultaneously being destroyed by the erosion effect of the hard quartz particles, which remove the pit edges, opening the pits and allowing renewal of oxygen inside, as shown in Fig. 10. This effect could avoid pitting progression. Fig. 11 shows the worn surfaces of the nitrided and nonnitrided AISI 410 steel. Fig. 11a shows a pit and wear marks on the surface of the non-nitrided steel. Pits appeared on the whole surface of the sample and did not seem to be nucleated preferentially along indentation and ploughing marks generated on the metal surface by impact of the particles. The size of the pits observed on the nitrided sample was smaller than those on samples without nitrogen.

Corrosion potential Ag/AgCl (V) 0.078 0.352 0.572 0.091 0.308 0.569

Rp (Ohms/cm2 ) 117000 7900 50 206100 13800 58

Pitting potential 0.229 0.200 0.135 0.335 0.185 0.143

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Fig. 10. Schematic illustration representing a possible benecial effect of particle impact (a) initial surface (b) pit initiation (c) pit growth (d) and (e) pit edges removal (f) repassivation.

static conditions for the comparing material: (islurry istatic )Nitrided (islurry istatic )Reference (1)

In addition, the ratio calculated using the passive current density under liquid impingement (iow ) instead of under static
Fig. 8. Topography of the eroded surfaces of AISI 304 in the (a) solutionannealed and (b) nitrided condition after corrosionerosion test.

3.4. Effect of nitrogen on synergism Different relationships have been established to quantify the synergism between wear and corrosion [14]. The effect of nitrogen on the synergism between erosion and corrosion may be assessed through a parameter calculated using passive current densities. This parameter is the ratio of the difference between passive current density under slurry impact (islurry ) and under static conditions (istatic ) for nitrided samples, to the difference between passive current density under slurry impact and under

Fig. 9. Pits in the cross-section of a solution-annealed AISI 304 sample tested in a liquid impingement condition.

Fig. 11. Topography of the eroded surfaces of quenched and tempered nonnitrided (a) and nitrided (b) AISI 410 samples after corrosionerosion test.

D. L opez et al. / Wear 263 (2007) 347354 Table 4 Synergism of erosion on corrosion for AISI 304 stainless steel calculated through passive current densities (PCD) Material 304 304N
a

353

PCD in static condition istatic (A/cm2 ) 1.4 106 9.8 107

PCD under slurry effects islurry (A/cm2 ) 6.2 104 6.1 104

PCD under liquid impingment iow (A/cm2 ) 3.2 106 2.8 106

Synergism Eq. (1) 1 0.98

Synergism Eq. (2) 1a 0.98

The curve obtained under liquid impingement did not show a clear passivation region.

Table 5 Synergism of erosion on corrosion for AISI 410 stainless steel calculated through passive current densities (PCD) Material 410 410N
a

PCD in static condition istatic (A/cm2 ) 7.9 107 6.1 107

PCD under slurry effects islurry (A/cm2 ) 1.5 103 1.2 103

PCD under liquid impingment iow (A/cm2 ) 6.6 105 1.1 105

Synergism Eq. (1) 1 0.80

Synergism Eq. (2) 1 0.83a

The curve obtained under liquid impingement did not show a clear passivation region.

conditions was quantied. This parameter allows separating the effects of nitrogen on the behaviour of the surface in dynamic conditions. Table 4 shows these values for austenitic steel. (islurry iow )Nitrided (islurry iow )Reference (2)

The results obtained show that the effect of nitrogen on the synergism between erosion and corrosion of austenitic steel is weak, reducing it only 0.02%. The same value is found when the synergism is calculated with parameters obtained in dynamic conditions (Eq. (2)), however this last value has uncertainty, since the polarization curve obtained under liquid impingement did not show a clear passivation region. The passivation zone was dened in the anodic portion of the curve, from the potential where the anodic Tafel zone ends (50 mV above the corrosion potential) to the potential where the curve slope change and the pitting potential is marked. After dened the passivation region, the value of passive current corresponding to the liquid impingement curve for annealed sample, was calculated taking the intermediate value of current density of the passivation region. In the case of the martensitic stainless steel the introduction of nitrogen caused a 20% reduction in the synergism between erosion and corrosion. Table 5 shows the synergism parameters calculated with Eqs. (1) and (2) for the martensitic steel. Nitrogen can enhance both: the erosion resistance of the surface through solid solution strengthening and the corrosion resistance through the modication of the passive lm properties. Despite considerable research on the structure and composition of passive lms, the role of nitrogen in improving the corrosion resistance remains uncertain. Some of the possible mechanisms by which nitrogen improve the corrosion resistance of stainless steels include (a) the formation of ammonia or nitrate ions near the surface, leading to corrosion inhibition through localized increase of surrounding environment pH and inhibition of pit growth and (b) strengthening of passive lm layer by nitrogeninduced segregation of Cr and Mo [1517]. The results seem to indicate that nitrogen may help the reconstruction of the passive layer enhancing the repassivation process as well as improving pitting corrosion resistance. This behaviour

is noticeable in the increase of the pitting potential and the decrease of current density after the beginning of the pit formation. These results suggest that the susceptibility of a passive metal to corrosionerosion degradation may be related to a competition between the removal rate of the protective oxide lm and the repassivation rate of the bare metal exposed to an aggressive environment. Besides the above-mentioned effects, the strengthening effect caused by nitrogen in solid solution, can help to improve the corrosionerosion resistance in both stainless steels, due to the fact that a harder surface offers a better mechanical support to the passive layer making the removal of the passive layer more difcult. Finally, it is possible to observe that the shift of the passive current density in the polarization curves of the austenitic steel to higher current densities, due to liquid impingement, is lower than the one generated by testing in corrosionerosion conditions. For both, nitrided and solution-annealed condition, the shifts were similar, from ca. 1.2 106 A/cm2 , in static condition to 3 106 A/cm2 , under liquid impingement and to 6 104 A/cm2 under slurry impact condition. On the other hand, the shift of the corrosion current density in the polarization curves of the martensitic steel was more even. Nitrided samples and quenched and tempered samples of martensitic steel shifted from ca. 7 107 A/cm2 in static condition to 9 105 A/cm2 under liquid impingement condition and to 1.4 103 A/cm2 in the corrosionerosion condition. This difference can be due to a better corrosion resistance of the austenitic steel and to the higher mechanical properties of the martensitic steel.

4. Conclusions 1. Nitrogen addition had a clear effect on the corrosionerosion synergism of martensitic steel, reducing the synergism in 20%. The effect of nitrogen was not so signicant on the corrosionerosion synergism of austenitic steel. However, nitrogen addition enhanced the repassivation ability of the passive layer of both steels and reduced the corrosion of lips and marks left by impact of slurry particles.

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D. L opez et al. / Wear 263 (2007) 347354 [3] U. Kamachi, R. Baldev, High Nitrogen Steels, Narosa Ed., 2004, 266 p. [4] H. Berns, S. Siebert, ISIJ Int. 36 (1996) 927. [5] C.M. Garzon, A.P. Tschiptschin, New high temperature gas nitriding cycle that enhances the wear resistance of duplex stainless steels, J. Mater. Sci. 39 (2004) 71017105. [6] R.F.A. Jargelius-Pettersson, Electrochemical investigation of the inuence of nitrogen alloying on pitting corrosion of austenitic stainless steels, Corros. Sci. 30 (1999) 16391664. [7] S. Azuma, H. Miyuki, T. Kudo, Effect of nitrogen on crevice corrosion of austenitic stainless steels, ISIJ Int. 36 (7) (1996) 793798. [8] H. Berns, A. K uhl, Reduction in wear of sewage pump through solution nitriding, Wear 256 (2004) 1620. [9] H. Berns, U. Eul, E. Heitz, R. Juse, Corrosion behaviour of solution nitrided stainless steels, Mater. Sci. Forum 318320 (1999) 517522. [10] A. Toro, A. Sinatora, D.K. Tanaka, A.P. Tschiptschin, Corrosionerosion of nitrogen bearing martensitic stainless steels in seawaterquartz slurry, Wear 251 (2001) 1257. [11] D. Jones, Principles and Prevention of Corrosion, McMillan Ed., 1992, 572 p. [12] B. Poulson, Advances in understanding hydrodynamic effects on corrosion, Corros. Sci. 35 (14) (1993) 655. [13] J. Weber, Flow induced corrosion: 25 years of industrial research, Br. Corros. J. 27 (1992) 193199. [14] S.W. Watson, F.J. Friedersdorf, B.W. Madsen, S.D. Cramer, Methods of measuring wearcorrosion synergism, Wear 181183 (1985) 476 484. [15] S. Ningshen, U. Kamachi Mudali, V.K. Mittal, H.S. Khatak, Semiconducting and passive lm properties of nitrogen-containing type 316LN stainless steels, Corros. Sci. (2006). [16] M.O. Speidel, in: J. Foct, A. Hendry (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on High Nitrogen Steels HNS 88, The Institute of Metals, London, UK, 1989, p. 251. [17] C. Clayton, G. Halada, J. Kearns, Passvity of high nitrogen stainless alloys: the role of metal oxyanions and salt lms, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 198 (1995) 135144.

2. High temperature gas nitriding signicantly increases the pitting potential of austenitic AISI 304 and martensitic AISI 410 stainless steels in 3.5% NaCl. 3. Liquid impingement of a jet with 8 m/s led to an increase in the corrosion current density and a decrease in the pitting and corrosion potentials for both steels. 4. The synergism between erosion and corrosion (liquid impingement + quartz particles) led to a greater increase in the corrosion current density and to a decrease in the corrosion potential. The pitting potential increases slightly when compared to the liquid impingement condition due to the action of the hard particles destroying pit edges. 5. The mechanical effect on the austenitic stainless steel is more marked than the corrosive one, whereas the chemical effect was more important to the martensitic steel. (The action of erosion was predominant in the case of the austenitic steel while corrosion damage was predominant in the case of the martensitic steel.) Acknowledgment The authors want to acknowledge CNPqConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient co e Tecnol ogico. Project nos. 475956/2003-6 and 490316/2004-2. References
[1] V.G. Gavriljuk, H. Berns, High Nitrogen SteelsStructure, Properties, Manufacture, Applications, Springer-Verlag, 1999. [2] H. Hanninen, Applications and performance of high nitrogen steels, in: N. Akdut, B.C. de Comman, J. Foct (Eds.), Proceedings of HNS 2004, Belgium, 2004, pp. 371380.