Investigation of diffusion kinetics of plasma paste borided AISI 8620 steel using a mixture of B2O3 paste and B4C/SiC

Abstract

In the present study, AISI 8620 steel was plasma paste borided by using various B2O3 paste mixture. The plasma paste boriding process was carried out in a dc plasma system at temperatures of 973, 1023 and 1073 K for 2, 5 and 7 h in a gas mixture of 70% H2 -30% Ar under a constant pressure of 10 mbar. The properties of the boride layer were evaluated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Vickers micro-hardness tester and the growth kinetics of the boride layers. X-ray diffraction analysis of boride layers on the surface of the steel revealed FeB and Fe2B phases. Depending on temperature and layer thickness, the activation energies of boron in steel were found to be 124.7 kJ/mol for 100% B2O3.