Analysis of the phase field of the non-equilibrium formation of Fe2B: driving force, interface kinetics and solidification pathway in laser boronization of steel 41Cr4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62638/ZasMat1653Abstract
A multi-phase-field (MPF) simulation of Fe-B solidification during laser boronizing of 41Cr4 steel is presented, coupling the Turnbull–Aziz non-equilibrium driving force with stochastic nucleation to resolve the full peritectic–eutectic solidification sequence at a cooling rate of Ṫ = 8.0×107 K/s. The simulation captures three thermodynamically ordered stages: transient FeB precipitation (≈ 3%, consumed by the peritectic reaction below 1662 K), Fe2B growth (terminal fraction 37.0%), and α-Fe matrix formation via the eutectic reaction below 1447 K (60.3%). The anti-correlated temporal evolution of driving force |ΔG|(t) and interface velocity v(t) reveals the kinetic signature of solute trapping at solidification onset: the interface velocity peaks at negligible driving force, consistent with a transient partition coefficient k(v) → 1. The Turnbull–Aziz driving force rises linearly with undercooling and saturates at 90 MJ/m3 (ΔT ≈ 180 K), marking the Aziz kinetic trapping limit. The simulated Fe2B fraction (37.0%) matches the value (38±2.5%) measured via digital image analysis on the SEM micrograph of Kulka et al. [1] to within a 2.6% relative gap.
Keywords:
Boronizing, laser, phase-field, non-equilibrium solidification, steelReferences
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