A step towards designing Fe-Cr-B-C cast alloys

Using mass balance equations and structural analysis results, the chemical compositions of the constituent phases of forty Fe-Cr-B-C alloys were determined. The dependence between chemical compositions and lattice parameters of (Cr, Fe)(2)B borides was also established. A set of statistical models was developed from these results, which articulate the chemical composition of the matrix as a function of the nominal chemical composition of the alloy. Partition coefficients for Cr and C in these alloys were then established. The developed statistical models, when used in conjunction with existing thermodynamic information. make it possible to estimate the chemical composition of the matrix and the types of, and semi-quantitatively the amounts of, boraides. carbides and boro-carbide precipitates. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.