Formation of Surface Nano/Ultrafine Structure using Deep Rolling Process on the AISI 316L Stainless Steel

Austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) have an excellent corrosion resistance but relatively-low hardness and yield strength [1,2], leading to limited usage in applications that high values of hardness and wear resistance is necessary for material surface. Therefore, surface properties such as hardness must be improved using appropriate techniques. Mechanical surface treatments such as ultrasonic shot peening [3,4], laser shock peening [5,6], burnishing [7,8] and deep rolling [9,10] are appropriate methods for surface grain refinement, resulting in improvement of surface hardness and other properties of austenitic stainless steels. Among them, deep rolling is a well-known method for increase of surface regions hardness with a thick affected depth. These days, the processing of crankshafts, surgical implants, turbine blades, oil field equipment, components of engines and gear boxes, welded joints, tension bolts and bend shafts, holes, valve bodies for high pressure compressors, components of cooling pumps and aircraft instruments are the most well-known applications of ballpoint deep rolling in the metals such as ASSs.