Improvement Corrosion Resistance of Gray Cast Iron Grade FC220 on Chromizing Process by Separate Cr Powder and NH₄Cl Powder System

Abstract

A new configuration of chromizing process was developed by separating Cr powder from NH4Cl. FC220 gray cast iron specimens were chromized in this new experimental setup at 450, 550, 650,750, 850 and 950°C during 13 hours in order to study the possibility of chromizing at “low” temperature. The chromized specimens were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), macro-hardness, micro-hardness, compression test and salt spray test. The results shows that the specimen chromized at 650°C gives the best compromise between the corrosion resistance and the hardness of the FC220 with 1.73 ڌm of thickness of the chromized layer. However, after 13 hours of the process, the hardness of the FC220 specimens decreased considerably from 93 HRB to 64.2 HRB (31%).