Effect of boronizing medium on dispersion layer of austenitic stainless steel

This paper presents the phase transformation of boronized 304 grade stainless steel under different heat treatment temperature. The coatings were produced by thermo-chemical treatment with powder and paste mixtures at high temperature. The microstructure of obtained coatings was investigated and the micro hardness was measured. Micro hardness of the obtained boron coatings was measured. Optical microscopy was used to investigate the microstructure and measure the thickness of the diffusion boron coatings. The heat treatment was conducted at 850 °C, 950 °C and 1050 °C for 4 hours for paste and 8 hours for powder specimens. Samples were characterized for spectrometer test, microstructure analysis, density test and hardness properties. The results revealed that paste boronized sample provide deeper boron layer than powder boronized.