The saturation of the surface layers of metals and alloys with boron is conducted for increasing their surface hardness, wear resistance, etc. Multicomponent layers containing in its composition borides of refractory metals, as a rule, are formed by the methods of chemicalthermal processing in the interaction of boriding component with refractory one or by the method of saturation of refractory metal impurities or alloy with boron. In this work, we studied the features of vanadium and iron borides formation on the surface of instrumental steels U8A and R18 under the influence of intense electron beams in continuous and pulse modes.

The development of new protective coatings is of great fundamental and applied importance for increasing operational properties of surface layers in machine parts, increasing their durability and expanding their functionality. The study is devoted to the creation of coatings based on boron and aluminum on the surface of alloyed steel using a method, combining diffusion saturation (DS) and subsequent electron beam processing (EBP). DS was carried out in saturating pastes based on boron carbide and aluminum at temperature of 1050 °C for 2 hours. As a result of processing, a diffusion layer with thickness of up to (5.6-5.8) × 102 μm and complex structure with depth-heterogeneous composition was formed on the steel surface. The subsequent EBP led to a complete transformation of the primary diffusion layer and an increase in its thickness to 103 μm. XRD analysis showed significant differences in composition before and after EBP: after EBP tungsten borides (WB, W2B9) and iron (Fe2B) were detected. In addition, it was determined that the distribution of microhardness and elemental composition (B, Al, W) over the depth of the layer after EBP have a more favorable profile without significant fluctuations compared to the sample after DS.

(1) Background: Operational properties and durability of dies in different metal-forming processes significantly depend on their surface quality. Major die failures are related to surface damage due to heat checking cracks, wear, etc. Thereby, strengthening of the working surfaces of dies for hot bending, stamping, forging, and die casting processes is an urgent engineering challenge. Surface alloying with high-energy beams improves the properties of steel products. In these processes, the alloying powders and the treated surfaces can be remelted by electron beam within a short time while the bulk structure of the component remains unchanged, resulting in minimal distortion. The paper presents the results of the electron beam surface alloying (EBSA) of H21 and L6 tool steels with the treatment pastes containing boron carbide and aluminum powders. (2) Methods: Two types of pastes were used for surface alloying: a single-component (B4C) paste and a two-component (B4C+Al) one. The microstructure, microhardness, wear resistance, and elemental and phase composition of the layers obtained on steels were investigated. (3) Results: Four layers up to 0.4 mm thick were distinguished on the surface of the steels after the EBSA. Metallographic analysis showed coarse dendrite formation in the layers embedded in matrices of a eutectic or a solid solution. Microhardness of the steels after the two-component EBSA was higher than after B4C EBSA, which was related to a higher concentration of hard phases, such as iron borides and carbides. In addition, aluminum boride was revealed by the XRD analysis on L6 steel after B4C+Al EBSA. (4) Conclusions: Wear test indicated that the most resistant samples were H21 steel after single B4C EBSA and L6 steel after B4C+Al EBSA. Both samples contained carbon particles in the layer contributing to the high wear resistance as a lubricant. The conducted research is beneficial for mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, medical technology, aerospace engineering, and related industries, where coatings with high microhardness, wear resistance, and surface quality are demanded.

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The microstructure and microhardness of the boride layers formed on die D5 steel by the methods of electron beam borating in vacuum under continuous and impulsive bunch modes are investigated and confronted. Formed layers have a heterogeneous structure, which combines solid and plastic components resulting in the fragility reduction of boride layer.