Strain induced martensite evolution in a rolling contact of SS AISI 304

The evolution of strain induced martensite in austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 was investigated in a rolling contact on a two-discstribometer. The effects of surface roughness, slip and normal force as well as the number of load cycles were examined. In comparison to the investigations of martensitic phase transformation during cold rolling, the applied stresses are considerably lower. The formation of strain induced martensite was detected in-situ by means of a FERITSCOPE (R) MP30 and ex-situ by optical microscopy after etching with Kane etchant. Both number of load cycles and magnitude of normal force appeared to be the main influencing factors regarding strain induced martensitic evolution in low stress rolling contacts.