Electron-beam boriding of low-carbon steel

Structural transformations happening in the surface layers of boriding steel during the irradiation by high-energy electron beam were analyzed by means of depth-selective conversion Moessbauer spectroscopy in parallel with metallography of the sample transversal sections and microhardness measurements. It was revealed that the high-energy electron irradiation during 10 s of a borided sample results in a sharp modification of subsurface phase composition: the recrystallization of the crystalline phases derivated in the solid-phase boriding process for the benefit of Fe2B phase take place. As a result of boron radiation-stimulated diffusion processes, the thickness of boriding coating is increased