The solid particle erosion on borided X12CrNiMoV12-3 stainless steel

•Erosion resistance of the X12CrNiMoV12-3 steel was improved by boriding process.•Material loss on boride layer decreased at 400 °C under the impact of SiO2 particles.•At 400 °C and low incidence angle, the erosion on borided surface was null.•Cracking was the failure mechanism observed on the borided surface after erosion. The X12CrNiMoV12-3 stainless steel, used in aeronautic industry, was borided and characterized for its resistance to particle erosion. The performance of boride layer, developed at 950 °C with 6 h of exposure, was evaluated at two temperatures and three impact angles using SiO2 particles. The results indicated, for all the experimental conditions, that the erosion resistance was improved for the presence of the boride layer on the surface, where the mass loss was null at 400 °C for the impact angle of 30°. Erosion mechanism of cracking was revealed on the borided surface compared with cutting and pitting on the untreated stainless steel.