Investigation of mechanical properties of borided Nickel 201 alloy

Highlights: • In this research, kinetics of borided Nickel 201 alloy was studied. • It was observed that the hardness of borides formed surface of steels is over 1700 HV0.05. • The thickness of the boride layer Nickel 201 alloys is approximately 220 μm. - Abstract: In this study, the case properties of Nickel 201 alloys, borided in Ekabor-II powder, were investigated by conducting a series of experiments at temperatures of 1173 K for 4 h. The boride layer was characterised by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction techniques and the micro-Vickers hardness tester. X-ray diffraction analysis of boride layers on the surface of the steels revealed the existence of NiB, Ni2B, Ni3B and Ni4B3 compounds. The thickness of the boride layer Nickel 201 alloys is approximately 220 μm. The hardness of the boride compounds formed on the surface of the Nickel 201 alloys ranged from 1153 to 1778 HV0.05, whereas the Vickers hardness values of the untreated Nickel 201 alloys were 180 HV005. When the hardness of the boride layer is compared with that of the matrix, the boride layer hardness is approximately ten times greater