Institute of Metals Division - Diffusion and Solubility of Boron in Iron and Steel

Fundamental data on the rate of diffusion of boron in austenite and solubility of boron in the a and y phases of iron and steel have been obtained from deboronizing experiments and provide partial explanations for some of the phenomena observed in boron steels. The rate of diffusion of boron is about the same as carbon in austenite. The solubility of boron in austenite at normal heat-treating temperatures is less than 0.001 pct. A partial tentative Fe-B phase diagram in the important low boron concentration ranges and an equation representing the diffusion of boron in austenite are presented. A LTHOUGH a search of the literature revealed ALTHOUGHthat boron diffusion had not been studied quantitatively and systematically prior to 1948, a few qualitative observations which were made by following the diffusion of boron into iron packed in ferro-boron1-3 suggest that boron obeys normal diffusion laws and that the rate of diffusion increases with increasing temperature. The claim of Cornelius and Bollenrath1 that boron does not appear to influence the rate of carbon diffusion has recently been substantiated by Wells, Batz, and Mehl.4 Calculations based on data from the paper by Campbell and Fayv indicated that the diffusion coefficient (D) for boron in iron at 900°C is approximately 3x10 sq cm per sec; a value of 2x10-7 sq cm per sec at 1038°C has been reported by Digges et al in connection with decarburizing experiments on a commercial boron steel containing 0.43 pct C. During the period 1948 to 1950 several diffusivity constant (D) values for the diffusion of boron in the y phase of iron and steel and a number of solubility values for boron in both a and y phases were reported. It was concluded tentatively as a result of Metals Research Laboratory studies that D values for boron in y and a phases are about the same as for carbon in the comparable phasesa and that carbon up to 0.4 pct did not affect the rate of diffusion of boron in y iron above 1000°C within the limits of experimental error. Whether saturation of the y or a phases with carbon would significantly affect rates of diffusion of boron through them was then and still remains in doubt. The best estimate of Q (activation energy) was reported to be about 25,000 cal, somewhat lower than that for carbon in y iron. The solubility of boron in y iron at 1000°C was thought to be higher than 0.004 pct B but not as high as a more recent analysis of available data shows it to be. The solubility of boron in a iron at 700°C was reported to be 0.0004 pct B, but it would not have surprised the authors if the true solubility value is actually lower than this. Breaks in diffusion curves which were not understood when first obtained prior to 1950 have now been recognized as indicating solubility limits, and these are included in the present paper. Experimental Procedure Two methods were employed in an effort to determine diffusion coefficients (D) for boron in austenite. Early experiments involved the use of welded couples prepared in accordance with the procedure of Wells and Mehl,' but when the results of these experiments proved to be unsatisfactory for calculating D values, studies were continued by means of deboronizing experiments. In both cases, boron analyses following the diffusion anneal were carried out spectrographically and all D values were computed using the Grube solution of Fick's law. The precision of the spectrographic method used proved to be about equal to that reported by Corliss and Scribner" —average deviation from the mean about 5 pct of the amount present when the boron content is 0.003 pct. Concentration-penetration curves obtained from spectrographic analyses of welded couples generally indicated that practically no boron was transported across the weld interface during the diffusion anneal. Furthermore the concentration-penetration