Tribological response of pack-boronized inconel 601 superalloy surfaces at elevated temperatures

Abstract

Inconel 601 superalloy sample surfaces were pack-borided at 1000 degrees C for 4 h and 6 h to investigate the effect of boriding treatment on the mechanical and high temperature wear performance. The boride layers were characterized using SEM, EDS, XRD, microhardness tests, nanoindentation and high-temperature wear tests at room temperature and 500 degrees C under 7 N and 15 N normal loads. Boriding led to nearly 300 % increase in the hardness and up to 11-fold increase in the wear performance of the Inconel 601 surfaces. Despite lower COF and specific wear rates, borided surfaces were more susceptible to temperature increase than the non-treated Inconel 601 surfaces due to the lower tendency of wear debris with hard phase content to form a consistent lubricating layer.