Investigation of wear properties of boronized austenitic stainless steel at different temperatures and times

In this study, AISI 303 austenitic stainless steel samples are boronized in different temperatures (850 °C, 900 °C and 950 °C) and in different times (2 hour, 4 hour and 6 hour) in Ekabor-II® powder by box boring method. Microstructure of boronized samples was investigated by applying metallographic processes. The boride layer thicknesses resulting from boronization were measured by optical microscope. Boron phases were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). As a result of XRD analysis, it was determined that the boron layer formed on the steel surface contains FeB, Fe2B, CrB, MnB phases. At different temperatures and time boriding AISI 303 austenitic stainless steel samples, with increasing temperatures and processing times boride has been shown to increase the layer thickness. The surface hardness of the boride layers was measured by Knoop hardness method. It was determined that micro hardness values increased in increasing temperatures and times. Wear behavior at room temperature, dry environment, 10 N load at a shear rate of 0,3 m / s was performed with ball-on-disc wear method. It has been determined that the wear rate decreases with the increase of boron temperature.