Abstract
In this study, diffusion mechanism of the boronizing process of AISI 1040 has been investigated. A nonlinear diffusion equation, which was proposed earlier, has been employed and compared with the experimental data. An interesting property of the diffusion equation used here is that it establishes a connection between the diffusion process and nonextensivity. The theoretical model also exhibits a possible connection between the exponents appeared in the differential equation and the entropic index. In this manner, the possible effects of nonextensivity on the boronizing process have been shown theoretically. We believe that a diffusion equation based on the nonextensive formalism is first applied to the boronizing process in literature.