Enhancement of tribo-corrosion performance of carbon steel through boronizing and BN-based coatings

摘要

The performance of iron boride coatings on carbon steel (cs) produced through thermal diffusion was investigated under tribo-corrosion conditions and compared with bare CS and 316L stainless steel. The tribological experiments involved reciprocating tests under both dry sliding and tribocorrosion conditions with a ball-on-flat geometry. The coatings demonstrated enhanced wear resistance primarily due to higher hardness and chemical inertness of the iron boride protective layer. Multi-layered structure of h-BN or other BN based compounds above the boronized steel reduced the ability for crack propagation as well as promoting a decrease in the friction coefficient (COF) by approximately 20%-40%, compared to CS. The microstructure and surface morphology of the worn surfaces were evaluated, which allowed better understanding the tribo-corrosion mechanisms in tested samples.