Vanadium carbide coating was obtained on the surface of AISI D2 steel by thermal reactive diffusion process using molten borax as based salt and vanadium pentoxide as vanadium donor. The process was performed at 900 °C, 940 °C, 980 °C and 1020 °C for 3 h, 4 h, 5 h and 6 h. The Optical Microscopy was used to observe the morphology of cross section of coating layer. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy was used to analyse the element content of the matrix and the coating layer by spot scanning and line scanning. X-ray Diffraction was used to obtained the phase composition of the coating layer. Microhardness Tester was used to measure the Vickers hardness of the coating layer and matrix. Friction and wear tester were used to explore wear resistance of the coated and uncoated specimens. The results show that the thickness of vanadium carbide coating ranges from 7.54 μm to 19.1 μm under different treatment time and temperatures. The V8C7 and VC x are the main phases contained in the vanadium coating layer. A thickness of about 3 μm transition layer is between the matrix and coating layer and the transition layer has a block effect on the diffusion of iron. The growth rate constants of vanadium carbide coating layer at 900 °C, 940 °C, 980 °C and 1020 °C were obtained as (5.20 ± 0.116) ×10–11 cm2 s−1, (8.91 ± 0.253) ×10–11 cm2 s−1, (1.26 ± 0.020) ×10–10 cm2 s−1, and (1.70 ± 0.036) ×10–10 cm2 s−1 respectively. The activation energy for vanadium carbide layer is 123.3 ± 10.1 kJ mol−1 and the diffusion constant is (2.58 ± 1.96) ×10–5 cm2 s−1. The maximum hardness of vanadium carbide coating layer on the surface of AISI D2 steel can reach 2594HV. The wear rate of untreated and treated specimens was evaluated as 15.58 × 10–13 m3/(N·m), 5.63 × 10–13 m3/(N·m) respectively and the wear resistance of treated specimens by TRD process was about 3 times than untreated specimens.

The TD (Thermal Diffusion) salt bath process is used to obtain a super hard carbide coating on the material surface by utilizing the mechanism of metal thermal diffusion. In this paper, chromium carbide coating was prepared on P20 hot-pressing die steel by the TD salt bath chromizing process. Characterization of the modified surface layer was made by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), a micro-hardness tester and an automatic scratch tester. The influence rules of different salt bath times and temperatures on the growth thickness of the cladding layer were explored through experiments, and the optimum salt bath process scheme was determined as a temperature of 960 °C and time of 6 h. The chromium carbide coating with a thickness similar to that of chromium plating was prepared, and the average thickness of the coating was about 8–10 μm. The results showed that hardness and bonding strength of chromium carbide coating are higher than that of electroplated chromium coating. The combination of chromium carbide coating and matrix is metallurgical, while the electroplated chromium coating is physical. Immersion corrosion test results show that both coatings have good corrosion resistance in a 65% nitric acid solution.

With the aim to investigate the effect of parameters and the quenching process on the joint microstructure and mechanical properties of hot stamping steel by laser welding, BR1500HS boron steel was welded by wire-filling laser welding with ER70-G welding wire under different parameters. The welded specimens were heated to 900 °C and held for 5 min before water quenching. A universal material test machine, optical microscope, Vickers hardness tester, scanning electron microscope, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) were used to characterize. The results show that the heat input should be greater than 1040 J/cm and the optimal wire-feeding speed is between 160 cm/min and 180 cm/min. The tensile strength of the quenched joint can reach greater than 1601.9 MPa at compatible parameters. More retained austenite distributes in the fusion zone (FZ) and fine grain zone (FGZ) than the coarse grain zone (CGZ) before quenching. However, the retained austenite in FZ and heat-affected zone (HAZ) decreases clearly and distributes uniformly after quenching. The grain diameter in FZ before quenching is not uniform and there are some coarse grains with the diameter greater than 40 μm. After quenching, the grains are refined and grain diameter is more uniform in the joint. With the increase in heat input, the microhardness of FZ and HAZ before quenching decreases from 500 HV to 450 HV. However, if the wire-feeding speed increases, the microhardness of FZ and HAZ before quenching increases from 450 HV to 500 HV. After quenching, the joint microhardness of all samples is between 450 HV and 550 HV. The fracture morphology of the joint before quenching consists of a large number of dimples and little river patterns. After quenching, the fracture morphology consists of a large amount of river patterns and cleavage facets due to the generation of martensite.