Fe2B layer growth kinetics on ASTM A307 steel evaluated by two diffusion models

Martin Ortiz-Domínguez; Mourad Keddam

doi:10.1515/mt-2023-0306

Article

Fe₂B layer growth kinetics on ASTM A307 steel evaluated by two diffusion models

Martin Ortiz-Domínguez
Asst. Prof. Dt. Dr. Martin Ortiz-Domínguez is a full time researcher and lecturer at the Escuela Superior de Ciudad Sahagún-UAEH. He is a Mechanical Engineer with a specific interest in quantum information theory, nanotechnology, classical electrodynamics, surface engineering, tribology and processes that occur at interfaces as well as mechanical behavior of metallic materials. His PhD in Mechanical Engineering is from National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico in 2013.
and Mourad Keddam
Prof. Dr. Mourad Keddam, born 1965, completed his graduate and doctorate studies at National Polytechnic School (El-Harrach, Algiers, Algeria). He works in thermochemical treatments and modeling of their kinetics and metallurgical phase transformations. He has published over 150 publications in the field of boriding and nitriding. He has been working in the Department of Materials Sciences at the university of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene (Algiers, Algeria) since 2001. He is currently full professor at the same institution.

Published/Copyright: January 23, 2024

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From the journal Materials Testing Volume 66 Issue 3

Abstract

In this study, we implemented two simple models to simulate the growth of the Fe₂B layer on ASTM A307 steel through boriding. The first model considered steady-state boron diffusion, while the second model incorporated transient regime effects. In the steady-state model, the boron concentration profile within the Fe₂B layer exhibited linearity. By correlating the boron chemical potential with the inward mass flux at the (Fe₂B/substrate) interface, we confirmed the parabolic nature of layer growth. Both models were employed to determine the boron activation energies, yielding the same value of approximately 164 kJ mol⁻¹. Experimental validation of the two models was conducted under two additional boriding conditions (1323 K for 1.5 and 2 h). Finally, the simulated layer thicknesses matched with the experimental values.

Keywords: boriding; iron boride; kinetics; activation energies; diffusion models

Corresponding author: Mourad Keddam, SDM, USTHB, B.P. 32 El Alia Bab Ezzouar, Algiers, 16000, Algeria, E-mail: keddam@yahoo.fr

Funding source: PRODEP and CONAHCyT

About the authors

Martin Ortiz-Domínguez

Asst. Prof. Dt. Dr. Martin Ortiz-Domínguez is a full time researcher and lecturer at the Escuela Superior de Ciudad Sahagún-UAEH. He is a Mechanical Engineer with a specific interest in quantum information theory, nanotechnology, classical electrodynamics, surface engineering, tribology and processes that occur at interfaces as well as mechanical behavior of metallic materials. His PhD in Mechanical Engineering is from National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico in 2013.

Mourad Keddam

Prof. Dr. Mourad Keddam, born 1965, completed his graduate and doctorate studies at National Polytechnic School (El-Harrach, Algiers, Algeria). He works in thermochemical treatments and modeling of their kinetics and metallurgical phase transformations. He has published over 150 publications in the field of boriding and nitriding. He has been working in the Department of Materials Sciences at the university of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene (Algiers, Algeria) since 2001. He is currently full professor at the same institution.

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: The work described in this paper was supported by a grant of PRODEP and CONAHCyT México (National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology).
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Published Online: 2024-01-23

Published in Print: 2024-03-25

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https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2023-0306

Keywords for this article

boriding; iron boride; kinetics; activation energies; diffusion models