Correlation of microstructure with hardness and wear resistance in (CrB, MoB)/steel surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation

Abstract

Correlation of microstructure with hardness and wear resistance of (CrB,MoB)/carbon steel surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation was investigated in this study. Three kinds of powder mixtures, i.e., 50CrB-50MgF2(flux), 50MoB-50MgF2, and 25CrB-25MoB-50MgF2 (wt pct), were placed on a plain carbon steel substrate, which was then irradiated with the electron beam. In the specimens fabricated with flux powders, the surface composite layer of 0.8 to 1.3 mm in thickness was successfully formed without defects, and contained a large amount (up to 48 vol pct) of Cr1.65Fe0.35B0.9 or Mo2FeB2 in the martensitic matrix. The hardness and wear resistance of the surface composite layer were directly influenced by the hard borides, and thus were about 3 to 7 times greater than those of the steel substrate. Particularly, in the surface composite fabricated with CrB and MoB powders, the hardness of eutectic solidification cells and martensitic matrix was very high, and borides formed a network structure along cells, thereby leading to the best hardness and wear resistance. These findings suggested that the high-energy electron beam irradiation was useful for the development of surface composites with improved hardness and wear resistance.