Structural Changes in the Surface Layers of a High-Strength Austenitic VNS-53 Steel during Wear Tests

Abstract—The tribotechnical characteristics of a high-nitrogen austenitic VNS-53 steel are studied under dry sliding friction in contact with a ShKh15-ShD steel. Strain hardening in a thin near-surface layer is found to occur without martensitic transformation, the result of which is a more than 90% increase in the hardness. This steel is found to have a lower friction coefficient and a higher increase in the hardness in the surface contact zone as compared to 08Kh18N10T steel.