Formation of a Nanostructured Hardened Surface Layer on the TiC-(Ni-Cr) Metal-Ceramic Alloy by Pulsed Electron-Beam Irradiation

Abstract

The efficiency and service life of products made from metal-ceramic tool alloys and used as cutting tools and friction units are determined by a combination of physical and strength properties of their surface layers with a thickness of up to 200 μm. Therefore, much attention is paid to their improvement at the present time. An effective way to increase the operational properties of the metal-ceramic alloy products is to modify the structure and the phase composition of the surface layers by forming multi-scale internal structures with a high proportion of low-dimensional (submicro and nano) components. For this purpose, surfaces are treated with concentrated energy fluxes. Pulse electron-beam irradiation (PEBI) in an inert gas plasma is one of the most effective methods. This chapter presents results of theoretical and experimental studies of this process. An example is the nanostructured hardened surface layer on the TiC-(Ni-Cr) metal-ceramic alloy (ratio of components 50:50) formed by PEBI in the plasma of argon, krypton, and xenon. Its multi-level structure, phase composition, as well as tribological and strength properties are shown.