Wear maps of borided AISI 316L steel under ball-on-flat dry sliding conditions

New results on wear maps of borided AISI 316L steel, obtained by powder-pack boriding process, are presented to provide a general visualization of its wear performance under different dry sliding conditions. Wear maps showed wear behavior in terms of specific wear rate, volume of material removed and coefficient of friction as a function of load (5–20 N) and sliding speed (5–30 mm/s). Specific wear rates between 5 × 10⁻⁶ to 9.7 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm were found, corresponding to mild wear and the transition region to severe wear. Grooving, material agglomeration and the formation of a tribofilm characterize the mild zone as observed by SEM-EDS, while debris, pitting and severe grooving predominate in the transition zone.