Microstructural changes and hardness variations in STS 304 steel have been investigated during the processes of carbide dispersion (CD) carburization; carburization, austenitization, subzero treatment and tempering. The carbon content of the surface layer increased up to maximum 4.0% after carburization, and the content was homogenized with the value of 2.3% to the $95{\mu}m$ from the surface after austenitization. The carbide appeared during CD carburization process was $Cr_7C_3$ type, which was composed network carbides along the austenite grain boundaries, square type carbides in the interior of the grain and fine nano-sized carbides. The fine nano-sized carbides precipitated at the austenitization stage and possibly subzero treatment stage were coarsened after tempering at $200^{\circ}C$, resulting the hardness decrease. The tempered steel without subzero treatment increased hardness with increasing time due to the continuous precipitation of fine carbides during tempering. The nano-sized carbide appeared square type morphology.

Abrasive wear between piston ring face and cylinder liner is an extremely unpredictable and hard-to-reproduce phenomenon that significantly decreases engine performance. Wear by abrasion are forms of wear caused by contact between a particle and solid material. Abrasive wear is the loss of material by the passage of hard particles over a surface. From the pin-on-disk test, particle dent test and scuffing test, abrasive wear characteristics of diesel engine cylinder liner-piston ring have been investigated. Pin-on-disk test results indicate that abrasive wear resistance is not simply related to the hardness of materials, but is influenced also by the microstructure, temperature, lubricity and micro- fracture properties. In particle dent test, dent resistance stress decreases with increasing temperature. From the scuffing test by using pin-on-disk tester, scuffing mechanisms for the soft coating and hard coating were proposed and experimentally confirmed.

CrN coatings were deposited by cathodic arc ion plating method on the SKD11 steel substrates. Atmosphere temperature of $350^{\circ}C$, arc current of 90 A, nitrogen partial pressure of 1.0-5.3 Pa, and negative bias voltage of 30-135 V were selected. The characteristics of microstructure were investigated with XRD. Hardness, adhesion and friction coefficient measured by microhardness tester, scratch tester, and ball on disk tribometer. Microstructures depended on nitrogen partial pressure and bias voltage. The preferred orientation of the films was changed from (200) to (111) with decreasing pressure and increasing bias voltage. Adhesion properties related with microstructure, but microstructure changes slightly influenced on hardness and friction properties. The critical load.($Lc_1$) and hardness of CrN films deposited at 5.3 Pa, -30 V condition were 55 N(HF1), $2157{\pm}47\;Hk_{0.025}$. The friction coefficient were about 0.5 under dry condition.

Microstructural changes during tempering at the temperature range of $300^{\circ}C{\sim}700^{\circ}C$ for the nitrogen-permeated STS 410 and 410L martensitic stainless steels has been investigated. After nitrogen permeation at temperature between 1050 and $1150^{\circ}C$, the surface layer appeared fine $Cr_2N$ of square and rod types in the martensite matrices. Hardness of the nitrogen-permeated surface layer represented 680Hv and 625Hv, respectively, for 410 and 410L steels. It is considered that the fine homogeneously dispersive effect of precipitates by nitrogen caused the increased hardness. Due to the counter current effect of carbon from interior to surface during nitrogen diffusion from surface to interior, the 0.1%C alloyed 410 steel showed the low nitrogen content of 0.025% compared with 0.045% of 410L steel at the distance of $100{\mu}m$ from the surface. Tempering of nitrogen-alloyed 410 and 410L showed the maximum hardness at $450^{\circ}C$. This maximum hardness was considered to be the secondary hardening effect of very fine carbide and nitride. The decrease in hardness at $700^{\circ}C$ was the softening effect of the matrix due to the precipitation of many needle-shaped $Cr_2N$ for 410 steel and the precipitation of coarse nitride of $Cr_2N$ in line with the spherical precipitates with directionality for 410L steel. For 410 steel, the corrosion resistance of nitrogen permeated surface in the solution of 1 N $H_2SO_4$ were nearly unchanged, however the superior corrosion resistance was obtained for nitrogen permeated 410L steel compared to the solution annealed condition.