Diffusion Layers with Ti and Ti+Al Formed on 316L Austenitic Steel by a Pack Cementation Procedure

Pack cementation procedure implies the use of a powder mixture containing the diffusive elements, which in our case are either Ti or Ti+Al, Al2O3 and NHCl as activator. In the case of titanizing the powder mixture contained 77% in weight Ti, while for alumino-titanizing Al/Ti = 1/5 ratio was employed. NH4Cl content was 3% in weight in all cases. Aluminium additions to the powder mixtures led to a decrease of the process temperature. Activation energy for the aluminizing of austenitic 316L steel is 73.87 KJ/mol, much smaller than for the titanizing, 257.86 KJ/mol. Activation energy for alumino-titanizing, in the same conditions, is 146.01 KJ/mol. All diffusion coatings, in the Ti – 316L and Ti+Al – 316L couples are formed of two layers having different structures and compositions. All couples were investigated by optical microscopy, electron microscopy (SEM and EDX), X-ray diffraction and microhardness trials.