Influence of Shallow and Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Tribological Behavior of En 19 Steel

The influence of cryogenic treatment on the wear resistance of En 19 steel was studied. Furthermore, a comparative analysis on the effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT, −196 °C × 24 h), Shallow Cryogenic Treatment (SCT, −80 °C × 5 h) and Conventional Heat Treatment (CHT) was done through dry sliding wear testing. The microstructures of CHT, SCT and DCT samples were also examined through scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the wear resistance of shallow and deep cryogenically treated samples is higher when compared to that of conventionally treated samples. X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that the transformation of retained austenite into martensite is responsible for the wear resistance improvement.