Simulation of the boriding kinetics of Fe

The present work evaluates, using the two approaches, the growth kinetics of Fe2B boride layers generated at the surface of iron via the paste-boriding for different temperatures (1223, 1253,1273 and 1323 K) and a variable treatment time : (1, 2, 4 and 6 h). Using the mass balance equation at the (Fe2B/substrate) interface under certain assumptions and considering the effect of the boride incubation time, it was possible to estimate the value of parabolic growth constant at the (Fe2B/substrate) interface. As a second approach, the dimensional analysis, based on the Buckingham- Pi theorem, was also used to study the boriding kinetics of Fe2B layers. A good agreement was observed between the experimental parabolic growth constants and the predicted ones from the first approach (i.e. the mass balance equation), on the basis of experimental data taken from the literature. Moreover, both approaches can serve as a tool to select the optimum thicknesses of Fe2B layers according to the practical use in industry