Abstract
Boronizing is a thermochemical treatment performed to produce hard and wear-resistant surface layers. In order to control the process and obtain boride layers with the desired properties, it is very important to know how the boronizing parameters and the chemical composition of the treated steel affect the boronizing. The aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of carbon content in carbon steels, boronizing temperature, and boronizing duration on the growth kinetics of boride layers. For this purpose, three carbon steels (C1y5, C45, and C70W2) were boronized in solid medium. The experimental results show that there is a linear relationship between the carbon content and the activation energy values, and between the carbon content and the frequency factors. In addition, a statistical analysis was performed to determine the contribution of each factor. The ANOVA showed that boronizing temperature has the highest effect on the boride layer thickness, followed by the boronizing duration, while the carbon content of the steel has the least effect on the boride layer thickness. Based on a regression model, an empirical equation was derived to estimate the thickness of the boride layer on carbon steels as a function of carbon content, boronizing temperature, and duration.
Highlights
Tools, machine parts, and many other technical components are frequently exposed to friction and wear, often at high temperatures and in corrosive environments
The aim of this study is to comprehensively investigate the growth kinetics of boride layers on carbon steels and to develop a diffusion model that takes into account, the boronizing parameters, and the chemical composition of treated steel
The boride layer thicknesses were calculated as the average of at least 50 measurements, and the results are presented in a Table 2 along with the standard deviations (SD)
Summary
Machine parts, and many other technical components are frequently exposed to friction and wear, often at high temperatures and in corrosive environments Under such operating conditions, surface properties are critical to their reliable and long service life. Boride layers improve resistance to adhesion wear, the corrosion-erosion resistance in non-oxidizing dilute acids and alkaline media, oxidation resistance and resistance to the influence of liquid metals [2–4]. All this means that the service life of machine parts can be extended several times if the boronizing parameters and materials are properly selected. Other studies in the field of tribology have shown improved properties of boronized surfaces under conditions of dry sliding wear [6,7], tribo-corrosion [8], and erosion [9]
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