This research investigates and analyzes wear properties of 316 stainless steel before and after applying paste boronizing process and to investigate the effect of shot blasting process in enhancing boron dispersion into the steel. In order to enhance the boron dispersion into 316 stainless steel, surface deformation method by shot blasting process was deployed. Boronizing treatment was conducted using paste medium for 8 hours under two different temperatures which were 8500 C and 9500 C. Wear behaviour was evaluated using pin-on-disc test for abrasion properties. The analysis on microstructure, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and density were also carried out before and after applying boronizing treatment. Boronizing process that had been carried out on 316 stainless steel increases the wear resistance of the steel compared to the unboronized 316 stainless steel. The effect of boronizing treatment together with the shot blasting process give a greater impact in increasing the wear resistance of 316 stainless steel. This is mainly because shot blasted samples initiated surface deformation that helped more boron dispersion due to dislocation of atom on the deformed surface. Increasing the boronizing temperature also increases the wear resistance of 316 stainless steel. In industrial application, the usage of the components that have been fabricated using the improved 316 stainless steel can be maximized because repair and replacement of the components can be reduced as a result of improved wear resistance of the 316 stainless steel.
Powder carburising compound used for pack carburizing has limited potential in producing thicker case depth. Paste carburizing has proved to be an option to replace powder in conventional pack carburizing as it requires less time and temperature to diffuse carbon atoms, and thereby produce greater case depth. The correlation between case depth and mechanical properties using paste carburising is the objective of this paper where the relationship between case depth with mechanical and tribological properties using powder, paste 1:1 and paste 3:1 compounds at 1000°C for 9 hours are studied. Samples were subjected to microhardness tests, tensile tests and wear tests. Results showed paste 1:1 compound produced the highest case depth (>0.5 mm), allowing us to greater tensile strength, 6.61% and high wear resistance, 49%.
This study focuses on the effect of boronizing medium on the boride layer thickness of pack boronized 304 stainless steel after surface modification. Pack boronizing treatment was conducted in temperature of 900oC for a duration of eight hours. The treatment was performed using two different boronizing mediums which are powder and paste inside a tight box in an induction furnace. The characteristics of the samples were then observed using optical microscopy and XRD analyser. The thickness of boride layer was then measured using MPS digital image analysis software. The results showed that boronizing medium significantly affected the thickness of boride layer as paste boronized samples exhibited thicker boride layer thickness. The enhancement was mainly due to the size of boron particle in the paste medium which was smaller than powder medium that enabled better diffusion. It is expected that the enhancement of the boride layer thickness would result in further improvement of the mechanical and wear properties of this material.