Mechanical characterization of the aisi 316l alloy exposed to boriding process

In this study, the powder-pack boriding process on low-carbon stainless steel was carried out at 1273 K for 4 h of exposure to obtain a layer around ~57 μm conformed by FeB, Fe₂B, and others alloying elements. Firstly, the presence of iron borides formed on the surface of borided AISI 316L alloy was confirmed by optical microscopy combined with the X-ray diffraction analysis. After, the sensed Vickers indentation test was performed on the iron boride layer to estimate the behavior of hardness and Young’s modulus. Sliding wear tests on the borided AISI 316L alloy were performed according to the ASTM G133-05 standard procedure, with the following conditions: distances of 50 and 150 m, normal loads of 5 and 20 N, and a sliding speed of 30 mm/s. Finally, the results showed that the presence of FeB-Fe₂B improves the resistance to wear around 41 times compared to the untreated material.