Improvement of Aluminum Erosion Behavior and Corrosion Resistance of AISI H13 Tool Steel by Oxidation Treatment

Abstract

In this work, H13 tool steel was prepared with different oxidation treatments to investigate the effects of oxidation temperature and soaking time. In order to improve erosion and corrosion resistance, this study tested with oxidation temperatures of 560°C, 580°C, and 600°C, and oxidation soaking times of 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h, respectively. Experimental results showed that the oxidation treatment at 600°C and for 3 h is the optimum process. The average thickness of the oxide layer was 9.2 μm. It showed that the oxide layer (Fe₃O₄) can protect and improve the aluminum erosion of H13 steel. The specimens that underwent the oxidative procedure were proven to effectively reduce the ratio of Al–Fe–Si compounds during erosion tests of A380 alloy solution. In addition, the results showed that the oxide layer can enhance polarization resistance, and quickly generate a passivation layer to increase the ability of corrosion resistance.