Effect of Si and prolonged time on interfacial morphologies and cavitation erosion behavior of directionally solidified Fe-B alloy in flowing liquid zinc

The effect of Si and prolonged time on interfaces and cavitation erosion behavior of directionally solidified (DS) Fe-B alloy in flowing liquid zinc was investigated. The results show Si enriches in α-Fe intragranular and α/Fe₂B boundaries to refine textured grains. DS Fe-B alloy with 2.5 wt%Si exhibits the best cavitation erosion resistance to flowing zinc, which is attributed to formation of alternating distributed Γ-Fe₃Zn₁₀ and FeSi and subsequently columnar ζ-FeZn₁₃. Cavitation erosion resistance mechanism of DS Fe-B alloy with 2.5 wt%Si is manifested that Si-induced Γ-Fe₃Zn₁₀ and FeSi and the rooting-whisker ζ-FeZn₁₃ layer can inhibit spallation and cracks of Fe₂B and products.