Determination of Boron Diffusion Coefficients in Borided Tool Steels

The boron diffusion in the Fe2B and FeB borided phases formed at the surface of AISI H13 tool steels during the paste boriding process was estimated. The treatment was carried out at temperatures of 1173, 1223 and 1273 K with 2, 4, 6 and 8 h exposure times for each temperature using a 4 mm layer thickness of boron carbide paste over the material surface. The boride layers were characterized by the GDOES technique to determine in quantitative form the presence of the alloying elements on the borided phases. The boron diffusion coefficients and were determined by the mass balance equation and the boride incubation time assuming that the boride layers obey the parabolic growth law. Also, the mass gain produced by both boride layers at the surface of the tool steels was determined. Finally, the boron diffusion coefficients were interpreted as a function of the treatment temperature, obtaining the activation energy values for the diffusion controlled growth of Fe2B and FeB hard coatings.