Experimental Study on Microalloyed Steel with Layers Subjected to Diesel

This work studies the mechanical behavior of microalloyed steels (API X60 and API X70) with boride layers using a boriding process and immersion in diesel. First, the microalloyed steels were borided using dehydrated boron paste at a temperature of 1273 K for 6 h, and then the borided microalloyed steels were immersed in diesel for one year. The characterization of the layers on the specimens subjected to diesel used scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The evaluation of the mechanical properties was performed with tensile tests according to ASTM E8, and then the fracture surface was observed by SEM. This work contributes to the understanding of the changes in the mechanical properties of borided microalloyed steel immersed in diesel for possible potential applications in the storage of fuels, oils, hydrogen, and biofuels.