SURFACE HARDENING OF TUNGSTEN-BASED HEAVY ALLOY VIA PACK BORONIZING

The boronizing of a tungsten heavy alloy containing Ni and Fe as the major alloying elements were performed in the present study to increase its surface hardening. Pack cementation method was employed as a well-known, successful solid-state process for boronizing. The coating treatment was accomplished at different temperatures of 1000, 1050 and 1100°C for 6 and 9 hours. The formation of tungsten boride phase was confirmed, although a silicide layer covered the surface of the specimen as the outer layer. The mechanism of the formation of a multilayered surface was explained. The maximum thickness of reaction zone and surface hardness achieved in the current work were 300 µm and 2470 HV, respectively.