Evaluation of the Corrosion Behavior and Hardness of Glucose- Carburized Steel in Comparison With Fe_2B Borided Layers

摘要

The paper aims to compare the hardness and corrosion behavior of carburized and borided Iron-Based Austenitic Steels (IBAS) which were treated at the same temperature and time under vacuum conditions. Boronizing was performed by pack cementation in Ekabor II powder and carburization was carried out by annealing under vacuum conditions using glucose as a carburizing medium. Both boronizing and carburizing procedures were performed at 900°C for 3h. The characterization of the treated materials was assessed by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, optical observations, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) measurements and micro-Vickers hardness tests. Potentiodynamic polarization curves were also used to determine electrochemical characteristics such as the corrosion potential (mV), corrosion current density (μΑ/cm~2) and corrosion rate (μm/year). The results showed that borided samples with a single phase layer, exclusively Fe_2B strongly "toothed", exhibited better hardness behavior towards carburized samples but lesser corrosion resistance instead.