Effect of boron paste thickness on the growth kinetics of polyphase boride coatings during the boriding process

The growth kinetics of FeB and Fe2B phases forming on AISI M2 steel by paste boriding was studied using different values of paste thickness, treating temperature and exposure time. The growth of iron boride layers is described by the mass balance equation between phases in thermodynamic equilibrium, assuming that the boron concentration at the interfaces remain constant during the treatment. The experimental results show that boron mobility and growth kinetics of iron borides are considerably increased when the paste thickness is increased at constant values of temperature and exposure time.