HIGHLY CORROSION-RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL MEMBER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME, HEAT TREATMENT METHOD FOR STAINLESS STEEL MEMBER, AND ROLLING BEARING AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME

Abstract

To provide a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component made of martensitic stainless steel achieving both high corrosion resistance and high hardness without containing ferrite at a surface layer portion. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component is made of martensitic stainless steel containing, by weight, from 0.35 to 0.43% of C, 0.5% or less of Si, 0.5% or less of Mn, 0.04% or less of P, 0.04% or less of S, from 15 to 17% of Cr, from 0.1 to 0.3% of W, from 1.5 to 3.0% of Mo, from 0.001 to 0.005% of B, and from 0.12 to 0.18% of N, with the balance being Fe and an inevitable impurity. The matrix structure of the surface layer portion of the entire outer surface is a two-phase mixed structure containing retained austenite and martensite, and the surface hardness is HRC 57 or more.

Claims

1. A highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component made of highly corrosion-resistant martensitic stainless steel containing, by weight, from 0.35 to 0.43% of C, 0.5% or less of Si, 0.5% or less of Mn, 0.04% or less of P, 0.04% or less of S, from 15 to 17% of Cr, from 0.1 to 0.3% of W, from 1.5 to 3.0% of Mo, from 0.001 to 0.005% of B, and from 0.12 to 0.18% of N, with a balance being Fe and an inevitable impurity, wherein a matrix structure of a surface layer portion of an entire outer surface is a two-phase mixed structure containing retained austenite and martensite, and a surface hardness is HRC 57 or more.

2. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1, wherein the two-phase mixed structure contains 13 vol % or less of retained austenite.

3. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1, wherein 95% or more of the number of carbides dispersed in the two-phase mixed structure has a long diameter of 10 μm or less.

4. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1, wherein a rating number after a neutral salt spray test according to JIS Z2371 standards is carried out for 96 hours is 9.8 or more.

5. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1, wherein the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component is heated to a temperature in a range from 1050 to 1120° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere having a nitrogen partial pressure of 1000 Pa or more and less than 10000 Pa and subjected to hardening.

6. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 5, wherein after the hardening, the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component is subjected to a sub-zero treatment of cooling to a temperature in a range from −30 to −90° C., and then heated to a temperature in a range from 150 to 200° C. and tempered.

7. The highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1, wherein the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component is a bearing ring for a rolling bearing.

8. A rolling bearing comprising a plurality of rolling elements disposed between an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein at least the outer ring or the inner ring is the bearing ring according to claim 7.

9. A rolling bearing comprising a plurality of rolling elements disposed between an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the inner ring and the outer ring are the bearing rings according to claim 7.

10. An assembly comprising a plurality of unitary components, wherein at least one of the plurality of the unitary components is the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 1.

11. A method of heat-treating a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component, comprising the steps of: preparing an intermediate component made of highly corrosion-resistant martensitic stainless steel containing, by weight, from 0.35 to 0.43% of C, 0.5% or less of Si, 0.5% or less of Mn, 0.04% or less of P, 0.04% or less of S, from 15 to 17% of Cr, from 0.1 to 0.3% of W, from 1.5 to 3.0% of Mo, from 0.001 to 0.005% of B, and from 0.12 to 0.18% of N, with a balance being Fe and an inevitable impurity; and heating the intermediate component to a temperature in a range from 1050 to 1120° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere having a nitrogen partial pressure of 1000 Pa or more and less than 10000 Pa and subjecting the intermediate component to hardening.

12. The method of heat-treating a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 11, comprising the steps of: a sub-zero treatment of, after the hardening, cooling the intermediate component to a temperature in a range from −30 to −90° C.; and after the sub-zero treatment, heating the intermediate component to a temperature in a range from 150 to 200° C. and tempering.

13. The method of heat-treating a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 11, wherein the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component is a bearing ring for a rolling bearing.

14. A method of manufacturing a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component, comprising the method of heat-treating a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 11.

15. A method of manufacturing a rolling bearing having a plurality of rolling elements disposed between an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein at least the inner ring or the outer ring is manufactured by the method of manufacturing a highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to claim 14.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rolling bearing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outer ring (A) and an inner ring (B) of the rolling bearing of the embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an outer ring (A) and an inner ring (B) of a rolling bearing of a comparative example.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an outer ring (A) and an inner ring (B) of a rolling bearing of another comparative example.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a micrograph of a metal structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0042] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rolling bearing (deep groove ball bearing, assembly) 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the rolling bearing 10 includes an outer ring 1 and an inner ring 2 as bearing rings. A raceway groove 1a having an arc-shaped cross section is formed at the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 1, and a raceway groove 2a having an arc-shaped cross section is formed at the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 2. Between the raceway grooves 1a and 2a, a plurality of balls 3 as rolling elements are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. The plurality of balls 3 are held in a plurality of pockets of a retainer 4, respectively. The retainer 4 can be made of resin such as polyamide or polyetheretherketone, or metal. In addition, the type of the retainer 4 is not particularly limited, and an arbitrary shape such as a crowned retainer, a machined retainer, or a corrugated retainer can be selected. The retainer 4 in FIG. 1 is a crowned retainer.

[0043] A bearing space 5 between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 is sealed by a metal sealing member 6 (metal shield). The sealing member 6 is not limited to metal shields, and a non-contact or contact rubber seal may be used. Additionally, the bearing space 5 is filled with grease as a lubricant. The grease used is selected in accordance with the application of the rolling bearing 10. Exemplary greases include, but are not limited to, lithium soap greases and urea greases.

[0044] The outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 are formed of highly corrosion-resistant martensitic stainless steel. In addition, the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 are subjected to a heat treatment according to the present invention including hardening, sub-zero treatment, and tempering. Over the entire surface of the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2, the matrix structure of the surface layer portion is composed of martensite and 13 vol % or less of retained austenite, and no ferrite is formed.

[0045] That is, the area ratio of ferrite at the surface layer portion is zero over the entire surface of the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2. As a result, the hardness of the surfaces and the interior is increased to HRC 57 or more. Note that in some applications, only the outer ring or the inner ring is required to have high corrosion resistance. In such a case, the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component according to the present invention may be used only for the outer ring or only for the inner ring. For example, in a rolling bearing for supporting a sliding door of an automobile, the outer ring is mainly exposed to rainwater or muddy water, and thus higher corrosion resistance is required for the outer ring.

[0046] The ball 3 may be made of metal or ceramic. Note that the rolling element of the rolling bearing is not limited to a ball 3 having a spherical shape. The rolling element may be a cylindrical roller and the rolling bearing may be a roller bearing. When the ball 3 is made of metal, the material of the ball 3 may be the same highly corrosion-resistant martensitic stainless steel as the material of the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2. Accordingly, the ball 3 having corrosion resistance and hardness equal to or higher than the corrosion resistance and hardness of the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 is obtained. However, if the use environment is not a severe corrosive environment, the ball 3 is prevented from corrosion to some extent by the grease. Therefore, bearings steels inferior to the highly corrosion-resistant martensitic stainless steel in corrosion resistance (for example, SUJ2) or conventional martensitic stainless steels for bearings (for example, SUS440C) may be used.

[0047] FIG. 2 illustrates the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 of the present embodiment after the heat treatment according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 of the present embodiment, no ferrite is formed at the surface layer portion of the entire surface. On the other hand, FIG. 3 illustrates the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 of a comparative example after being subjected to the same heat treatment. In the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 of the comparative example, ferrite is formed at the surface layer portion of the entire surface. After the heat treatment, the end surface, the outer cylindrical surface (radially outer surface), and the raceway groove 1a of the outer ring 1, and the end surface, the inner cylindrical surface (radially inner surface), and the raceway groove 2a of the inner ring 2 are finished by grinding.

[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates the state of the outer ring and the inner ring of FIG. 3 after being subjected to finishing grinding to remove the ferrite layer of the surface layer portion. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the end surface, the outer cylindrical surface, and the raceway groove 1a of the outer ring 1, and the end surface, the inner cylindrical surface, and the raceway groove 2a of the inner ring 2 are finished by grinding, and thus the ferrite layer of the surface layer portion in these portions has been removed. However, the ferrite layer remains at the surface layer portion even after finishing, at the cylindrical surface located at the outer side in the axial direction of the raceway grooves 1a, 2a not ground at the time of finishing, the sealing groove for attaching the sealing member 6, the chamfered portion, and the like. As described above, the ferrite layer of the surface layer portion causes a decrease in corrosion resistance and hardness. Therefore, the rolling bearing using the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 as illustrated in FIG. 4 is not desirable since portions inferior in corrosion resistance and hardness remain. In addition, since the surface of the raceway groove 1a is super-finished, it is difficult to achieve the state illustrated in FIG. 4 because the removal amount is too large, leading to an increase in production cost. Therefore, it is important not to form the ferrite layer at the surface layer portion by the heat treatment in order to suppress the production cost.

[0049] Next, the heat treatment conditions for obtaining the rolling bearing of the embodiment will be described.

[0050] After the outer ring and the inner ring are formed by cutting, it is desirable that the outer ring and the inner ring are heated to a temperature in the range from 1050 to 1120° C. in a heat treatment oven under a nitrogen atmosphere having a nitrogen partial pressure of 1000 Pa or more and less than 10000 Pa and hardened, then subjected to a sub-zero treatment of cooling to a temperature in the range from −30 to −90° C., and then tempered at a temperature in the range from 150 to 200° C. This is because the sub-zero treatment is effective in reducing the amount of retained austenite and increasing hardness.

[0051] Nitrogen Partial Pressure During Hardening

[0052] When the nitrogen partial pressure is less than 1000 Pa, the nitrogen concentration at the surface layer portion decreases during hardening, and ferrite is formed. On the other hand, when the nitrogen partial pressure is 10000 Pa or more, in the martensitic stainless steel according to the present invention, nitrogen may be solid-solved at the surface layer portion and the nitrogen concentration may be too high. The solid solution of nitrogen from the outside increases the amount of retained austenite formed after hardening and tempering, resulting in a decrease in tempered hardness. In addition, nitrides are formed by the addition of nitrogen. However, when nitrogen is excessively added by solid solution from the outside, the effect of reducing toughness becomes larger than the improvement in hardness, and brittle fracture is promoted.

[0053] Therefore, it is desirable that the nitrogen partial pressure is 1000 Pa or more and less than 10000 Pa in order to prevent nitrogen from escaping from the surface layer portion and also to avoid solid solution of nitrogen from the outside. In order to obtain such a nitrogen atmosphere, it is preferable to reduce the pressure in the furnace from atmospheric to 200 Pa or less, more preferably 100 Pa or less, before introducing the nitrogen gas. By sufficiently reducing the pressure in the furnace before introducing the nitrogen gas in this way, the amount of gases other than the nitrogen gas and moisture is reduced, and unexpected reaction with the metal can be avoided.

[0054] Hardening Temperature

[0055] When the hardening temperature is less than 1050° C., the formation of martensite by rapid cooling (oil or water hardening) is not sufficient, and it is difficult to obtain a hardness of HRC 57 or more. On the other hand, when the hardening temperature exceeds 1120° C., it becomes difficult to obtain a hardness of HRC 57 or more because prior austenite grains become coarse and carbides are solid-solved. Therefore, the hardening temperature is desirably from 1050 to 1120° C.

[0056] Note that the present invention is not limited to bearing rings or rolling elements for rolling bearings, but is applicable to any highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel components used as mechanical components such as bolts or nuts.

EXAMPLES

[0057] Table 1 shows the component contents of the martensitic stainless steels of Examples and Comparative Examples in wt. %. In addition, the desirable content range of the present invention is referred to as an effective range and shown.

[0058] 1. Investigation of Hardness and Corrosion Resistance

[0059] Intermediate components having an outside diameter of 13 mm, an inside diameter of 11.54 mm, and a height of 4 mm were produced by machining bar materials of martensitic stainless steel having the components shown in Table 1, hardened using a heat treatment oven under the conditions of nitrogen partial pressure and hardening temperature shown in Table 1, subjected to a sub-zero treatment of cooling to a temperature in the range from −30 to −90° C., and then tempered at a temperature in the range from 150 to 200° C. to obtain ring-shaped samples.

[0060] The hardness at a depth of 20 μm from the surfaces of the samples thus obtained was measured. In addition, cross sections of the samples were mirror-polished and then etched, and a structure of a region of 50 μm in depth from the surface and 100 μm in width was observed at three positions with a metallographic microscope. Then, the structure photographs illustrated in FIG. 5 were subjected to image analysis to calculate an area ratio (area %) of ferrite in each region of 50 μm×100 μm, and the average value of the area ratio of ferrite is shown in Table 1. Additionally, the amount of retained austenite (retained y) was obtained by measuring the volume fraction (vol %) by an X-ray diffraction method with an X-ray stress measurement device (available from PROTO, model number iXRD).

[0061] In addition, plates having a length of 50 mm, a width of 20 mm, and a thickness of 2 mm were produced by machining bar materials of martensitic stainless steel having the components shown in Table 1, and were subjected to heat treatment under the same conditions as the conditions described above. The samples thus obtained were subjected to a neutral salt spray test for 96 hours in accordance with JIS Z2371, and the rating numbers were evaluated based on the rating number method of JIS Z2371:2015 standards. When the rating number was 9.8 or more, the corrosion resistance was judged to be good and evaluated as “A”, and when the rating number was less than 9.8, the corrosion resistance was judged to be insufficient and evaluated as “B”. The above measurement results and test results are shown in Table 1 together with the material components of each sample.

[0062] Table 1

TABLE-US-00001 C Si Mn P S Cr W Mo B N Component (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) Effective range 0.35 to Max. Max. Max. Max. 15 to 0.1 to 1.5 to 0.001 to 0.12 to of invention 0.43 0.5 0.5 0.04 0.04 17 0.3 3.0 0.005 0.18 Example 1 0.40 0.20 0.31 0.02 0.002 15.92 0.24 1.55 0.0045 0.15 Example 2 0.43 0.41 0.43 0.02 0.010 15.33 0.16 1.83 0.0014 0.12 Example 3 0.36 0.19 0.22 0.02 0.036 16.38 0.25 2.70 0.0036 0.18 Example 4 0.38 0.25 0.24 0.03 0.019 16.80 0.11 2.56 0.0029 0.13 Example 5 0.35 0.28 0.18 0.01 0.011 16.11 0.17 1.95 0.0022 0.12 Comparative 0.33 0.23 0.33 0.02 0.004 16.45 0.19 1.94 0.0024 0.16 Example 1 Comparative 0.38 0.36 0.27 0.01 0.008 16.01 0.20 2.23 0.0019 0.11 Example 2 Comparative 0.41 0.26 0.33 0.01 0.005 15.94 0.18 2.01 0.0017 0.16 Example 3 Comparative 0.39 0.34 0.21 0.02 0.008 15.88 0.21 2.05 0.0020 0.16 Example 4 Comparative 0.41 0.20 0.34 0.02 0.002 15.99 0.28 2.32 0.0030 0.15 Example 5 Comparative 0.41 0.20 0.34 0.02 0.002 15.99 0.28 2.32 0.0030 0.15 Example 6 Comparative 0.39 0.33 0.27 0.02 0.003 17.37 0.30 2.13 0.0018 0.16 Example 7 Comparative 0.34 0.18 0.31 0.01 0.007 16.23 0.22 1.95 0.0021 0.11 Example 8 Comparative 0.44 0.22 0.17 0.01 0.010 16.13 0.26 2.00 0.0016 0.15 Example 9 Comparative 0.39 0.22 0.34 0.02 0.002 16.09 0.24 2.44 0.0030 0.10 Example 10 Comparative 0.40 0.18 0.25 0.02 0.008 14.73 0.20 2.09 0.0028 0.15 Example 11 Comparative 0.42 0.30 0.29 0.01 0.006 15.89 0.11 1.11 0.0020 0.14 Example 12 SUS440C 1.05 0.25 0.33 0.01 0.010 16.71 0.02 0.44 0.0001 0.01 Nitrogen Ferrite amount partial Hardening at surface Surface Corrosion pressure temperature layer portion hardness resistance Rating Retained Component (Pa) (° C.) (area %) (HRC) evaluation number γ (vol %) Effective range 1000 to 1050 to Zero 57 or A 9.8 or 15 or of invention less than 1120 more more less 10000 Example 1 2000 1070 0 60 A 10 11.5 Example 2 1000 1060 0 59 A 9.8 12.2 Example 3 7000 1050 0 59 A 10 9.5 Example 4 1000 1100 0 58 A 10 10.1 Example 5 2000 1050 0 57 A 9.8 8.3 Comparative 1000 1070 0 55 A 10 10.8 Example 1 Comparative 2000 1060 0 56 A 9.8 9.6 Example 2 Comparative 1000 1040 0 56 A 10 8.2 Example 3 Comparative 2000 1130 0 56 A 10 7.9 Example 4 Comparative 70 1060 28% 51 B 9.3 13.4 Example 5 Comparative 700 1060 19% 52 A 9.5 12.2 Example 6 Comparative 1000 1070  6% 54 A 9.8 10.6 Example 7 Comparative 1000 1080  4% 53 A 9.8 9.8 Example 8 Comparative 2000 1090 0 60 B 7 8.3 Example 9 Comparative 2000 1080 0 57 B 8 10.5 Example 10 Comparative 2000 1060 0 58 B 8 11.8 Example 11 Comparative 2000 1060 0 58 B 8 9.6 Example 12 SUS440C 70 1040 0 60 B 5 6.9 “A”: good, “B”: insufficient

[0063] As shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 to 5, all the ranges of the components as essential components of the present invention are satisfied, and preferable ranges of the nitrogen partial pressure and the hardening temperature are also satisfied. As a result, ferrite was not present at the surface layer portion at an area ratio of zero, and a matrix structure composed of a two-phase mixed structure containing from 8.3 to 12.2 vol % of retained austenite and martensite was formed. In addition, when a large number of carbides and inclusions dispersed in the matrix had long diameters exceeding 10 μm, corrosion resistance was adversely affected. In Examples 1 to 5, 95% or more of the carbides and inclusions dispersed in the two-phase mixed structure of the matrix had long diameters of 10 μm or less. Therefore, the rating numbers indicating the corrosion resistance were 9.8 or more in all Examples, and the corrosion resistance was evaluated as “A” (good). Further, the hardness of the surface layer portion was all HRC 57 or more, and satisfied the hardness of bearing rings for rolling bearings specified in the JIS B1511:1993 standards.

[0064] On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was set to 1000 Pa, and thus no ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion. However, since the content of C was less than 0.35%, the hardness of the surface layer portion was HRC 55 and did not satisfy the JIS B1511:1993 standards for rolling bearings. In Comparative Example 2, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was set to 2000 Pa, and thus no ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion. However, since the content of N was less than 0.12%, the hardness was only HRC 56.

[0065] In Comparative Example 3, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was set to 1000 Pa as in Comparative Example 1, and thus no ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion. However, since the hardening temperature was less than 1050° C., the formation of martensite was insufficient and only the hardness of HRC 56 was obtained. In Comparative Example 4, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 2000 Pa and no ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion. However, since the hardening temperature exceeded 1120° C., the hardness was only HRC 56 due to coarsening of prior austenite grains and solid solution of carbides.

[0066] In Comparative Example 5, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was only 70 Pa, and thus the ferrite amount at the surface layer portion reached 28 area % in area ratio, and the hardness was only HRC 51. In Comparative Example 6, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 700 Pa, and thus the ferrite amount at the surface layer portion reached 19 area %, and the hardness was only HRC 52.

[0067] In Comparative Example 7, although the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 1000 Pa, the ferrite amount at the surface layer portion was 6 area %, and the hardness was HRC 54. This is considered to be because in Comparative Example 7, the content of Cr as a ferrite-forming element exceeded 17%, and thus ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion after hardening, causing a decrease in hardness.

[0068] In Comparative Example 8, although the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 1000 Pa, the ferrite amount at the surface layer portion was 4 area %, and the hardness was HRC 53. This is considered to be because in Comparative Example 8, the content of C was less than 0.35%, and thus the formation of austenite was insufficient and ferrite remained, and also because the content of N was less than 0.12%.

[0069] In Comparative Example 9, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 2000 Pa and no ferrite was present at the surface layer portion. However, since the content of C exceeded 0.43%, the rating number was 7, it could not be said that there was sufficient corrosion resistance, and the evaluation of the corrosion resistance was “B” (insufficient). In Comparative Example 10, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 2000 Pa, and thus no ferrite was formed. However, since the content of N was as low as 0.10%, the rating number was 8 and the evaluation of the corrosion resistance was “B”.

[0070] In Comparative Example 11, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 2000 Pa and thus no ferrite was formed. However, since the content of Cr was as low as 14.73%, sufficient corrosion resistance was not obtained, the rating number was 8, and the evaluation of the corrosion resistance was “B”. In Comparative Example 12, the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 2000 Pa, and thus no ferrite was formed. However, since the content of Mo was as low as 1.11%, the rating number was 8 and the evaluation of the corrosion resistance was “B”.

[0071] Note that for comparison, the components of SUS440C and the test results are also shown in Table 1. As is clear from Table 1, SUS440 has a hardness of HRC 57, applicable to a roller bearing, but cannot be used in a severe corrosive environment since the rating number is 5 and the evaluation of the corrosion resistance is “B”.

[0072] 2. Structure Observation

[0073] Hereinafter, structure observations performed on Examples 1 to 3 where the component content is within the effective range and no ferrite is present at the surface layer portion, that is, the ferrite area ratio is zero, and Comparative Examples 5 and 6 where the component content is within the effective range but ferrite is present at the surface layer portion will be described in detail. Table 2 shows the ferrite amount at three positions of the surface layer portion of each sample in ferrite area ratio (area %), and Table 3 shows the average value of the ferrite area ratio at three positions and the average value of the Rockwell C hardness (HRC) at three positions at a depth of 20 μm from the surface of each sample. The numbers (“70” to “7000”) on the left side of the hyphen of the sample labels in Table 2 indicate the nitrogen partial pressure (unit: Pa) at the time of hardening.

[0074] In the structure observation, a cross section of the sample was mirror-polished and then etched with nital, and a region of 50 μm in depth from the surface and 100 μm in width of the surface layer portion was photographed at three positions with a metallographic microscope. Since ferrite is hard to be etched and looks white, such portions were made black by image processing before the area ratio was measured. FIG. 5 illustrates structure photographs of the surface layer portion after the image processing thus obtained. Regarding the samples 70-1 to 70-3 and the samples 700-1 to 700-3 having the nitrogen partial pressure of less than 1000 Pa at the time of hardening, the upper portion of the surface layer portion is illustrated in black in the structure photograph after the image processing, and it is clearly found that ferrite was formed in the vicinity of the sample surface. In the sample having the nitrogen partial pressure of 1000 Pa or more at the time of hardening, there is no portion illustrated in black even after the image processing, and it is found that no ferrite was formed. For each sample, the area ratio of ferrite for a region of 50 μm in depth from the surface and 100 μm in width was calculated using the thus image-processed structure photograph, and the average value of the area ratio of ferrite was defined as the ferrite area ratio at the surface layer portion of each sample.

[0075] Note that also in Comparative Examples 7 and 8, the ferrite area ratio was calculated by the same method. As shown in Table 2, in Comparative Example 5 where the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening was 70 Pa, 26 area % or more of ferrite was formed at the surface layer portion, and from 16 to 23 area % of ferrite was formed at 700 Pa. Further, when the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening is 1000 Pa or more, no ferrite was formed and the area ratio of ferrite is zero. Additionally, as shown in Table 3, when the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening is 1000 Pa or more, the hardness at positions at a depth of 20 μm from the surface is HRC 59 or more. As a result, it was found that it is effective to set the nitrogen partial pressure at the time of hardening to 1000 Pa or more in order to prevent the formation of ferrite at the surface layer portion.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Sample Label Ferrite area ratio (area %) Comparative Example 5  70-1 26 Comparative Example 5  70-2 29 Comparative Example 5  70-3 28 Comparative Example 6  700-1 16 Comparative Example 6  700-2 17 Comparative Example 6  700-3 23 Example 2 1000-1 0 Example 2 1000-2 0 Example 2 1000-3 0 Example 1 2000-1 0 Example 1 2000-2 0 Example 1 2000-3 0 Example 3 7000-1 0 Example 3 7000-2 0 Example 3 7000-3 0

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Ferrite area HRC hardness at depth ratio (area %) of 20 μm from surface 70 Pa 28 51 700 Pa 19 52 1000 Pa 0 59 2000 Pa 0 60 7000 Pa 0 59

[0076] 3. Life Test

[0077] Using the above-described materials of Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 5 to 8 for the inner ring and the outer ring, a single-row deep groove ball bearing was produced as a test rolling bearing. The outer ring had an outside diameter of 13 mm, an inside diameter of 11.54 mm, and a width of 4 mm, and the inner ring had an outside diameter of 9 mm, an inside diameter of 7 mm, and a width of 4 mm. The ball had a diameter of 1.588 mm and was made of DD400 (martensitic stainless steel, hardness HRC 60). A crowned retainer made of polyamide was used as the retainer.

[0078] In the test rolling bearing, the outer ring was attached to the holder, the inner ring was fixed to one end portion of the shaft, the other end side of the shaft was inserted into a pair of rolling bearings of the test device, and the shaft was rotatably supported while being held in the horizontal direction. Then, the shaft was rotated at 5400 rpm with a radial load of 431 N (44 kgf) being applied to the holder in the vertical direction, and the test was performed until the test rolling bearing attached to the holder was locked (until the shaft stopped rotating). The elapsed time from the start of the test until the test rolling bearing was locked is defined as a lock time, and the average lock time of 10 samples is defined as an evaluation index. The results are shown in Table 4.

[0079] In Table 4, the numbers of the rolling bearing in Examples and Comparative Examples are the same as the numbers of the material in Examples and Comparative Examples for clarity. For example, a rolling bearing using the material of Example 1 is referred to as Example 1. Further, in order to find out the influence of the ferrite layer, in Comparative Examples, the inner ring and the outer ring are finished in a state where the surface layer hardness of the raceway surface is insufficient, in other words, in a state where the ferrite layer is left at the surface layer portion. Therefore, the surface layer portions after the dimensions of the inner ring and the outer ring of Comparative Examples are finished are in the states illustrated in FIGS. 3(A) and (B). In addition, sample numbers 1 to 10 were given to the ten rolling bearings of each Example and each Comparative Example.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Examples of good surface layer hardness and corrosion resistance Examples of insufficient surface layer hardness Sample Example Example Example Example Example Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative number 1 2 3 4 5 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 Example 8 1 5 4.8 10.2 7.7 5.4 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.9 2 15.1 6.5 15.9 9.8 12.6 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.1 3 27.2 10.2 22.6 16.4 22.5 0.9 0.9 1.8 1.9 4 30.9 22.5 39.4 25.8 29.5 1.8 1.9 3.4 2.2 5 34.4 24.6 44.6 29.5 38.5 2.2 2.5 3.7 2.5 6 38.8 40.7 53.8 38.5 40.7 2.5 3 3.8 2.8 7 39.9 44.2 64.2 49.6 54 2.9 3.4 4.7 3.3 8 89.2 70.6 94.7 88.5 79.6 3.5 3.6 5.2 4.2 9 107.6 98.5 132 98.1 95.8 4.4 4.8 5.4 6 10 155.5 135.1 183.6 128.6 133.6 10.2 8.5 7.8 8.2 Mean 54 46 66 49 51 3 3 4 3

[0080] As shown in Table 4, in the rolling bearings of Examples 1 to 5, the average lock time was from 46 to 66 hours, whereas in the rolling bearings of Comparative Examples 5 to 8 where ferrite was present at the surface layer portion, the average lock time was only from 3 to 4 hours. From the above results, it was confirmed that in the rolling bearing of the present invention, no ferrite is present at the surface layer portion and the hardness is sufficient, so the life is long.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0081] The present invention is applicable to the field of highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel components such as rolling bearings, and is suitably applicable to the field of highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel components used in particularly severe corrosive environments. Although the above-described Examples exemplified the case of the rolling bearing with highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel components, the present invention is not limited to the case, and the highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel components of the present invention can be used for an assembly used in particularly severe corrosive environments.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0082] 1 Outer ring (highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component) [0083] 1a Raceway groove [0084] 2 Inner ring (highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel component) [0085] 2a Raceway groove [0086] 3 Ball (rolling element) [0087] 4 Retainer [0088] 5 Bearing space [0089] 6 Sealing member [0090] 10 Rolling bearing (assembly)