Abstract
In recent years, materials with nanometer-sized grain have received considerable attention due to their enhanced properties compared to their coarse-grained equivalents. Surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) is an effective method to create a nanostructured layer. Thus, SMAT was performed on 316L stainless steel in order to fabricate a nanocrystalline surface layer. The microstructure of the nanostructured surface was characterized by SEM and TEM. The results indicate that a nanostructured layer was formed on the top surface. The electrochemical behavior of the SMATed and Un-treated samples was studied in Ringer's solution. The SMATed samples exhibit higher impedance and lower corrosion current density in compared with the un-treated specimens. The improvement of the corrosion resistance is attributed to the formation of stable passive film. The tribological behavior of the nanocrystalline surface layer was investigated using a ball-on-disc tribometer. The friction coefficient of the nanocrystalline layer is lower than that of the coarse-grained. Moreover, wear rates demonstrated that SMAT improved the wear resistance of 316L. The overall results showed that SMAT could be an effective method for modifying properties of current materials to reach a new generation of materials used for biomedical applications.