Ultra-fast boriding of metal surfaces for improved properties

摘要

A method of ultra-fast boriding of a metal surface. The method includes the step of providing a metal component, providing a molten electrolyte having boron components therein, providing an electrochemical boriding system including an induction furnace, operating the induction furnace to establish a high temperature for the molten electrolyte, and boriding the metal surface to achieve a boride layer on the metal surface.

主权项

1. A method of boriding a surface of a metal in a system having a furnace, the improvement comprising:
providing an anode and a cathode of an electrochemical cell; providing a metal component having a metal surface and coupling the metal component to the cathode; providing a molten electrolyte comprising a boron compound and an additive selected from the group consisting of inorganic sodium, potassium, and lithium compounds therein; providing an electrochemical boriding system including a furnace; providing a current to the metal component; operating the furnace to establish a high temperature for the molten electrolyte; immersing the metal component in a bath of the molten electrolyte; boriding the metal surface of the metal component immersed in the molten electrolyte to achieve a layer comprising Fe2B and FeB on the entire metal surface; and leaving the metal component for 10 minutes to 120 minutes in the molten electrolyte without applying current to the metal component while maintaining the high temperature of the molten electrolyte to controllably remove at least a portion of the FeB from the metal component.