Mechanical Properties and Structure of the Hypereutectic Silumin Treated by an Electron Beam

Abstract

Treatment of hypereutectic structure silumin (18-24 wt% of Si) by an intense pulsed electron beam of submillisecond duration is carried out. Formation of submicro- and nanocrystalline structure in the surface layer is revealed, which is caused by ultrahigh (up to 108 K/s) cooling rates of the melted layer. It is established that the modification of the silumin surface layer by an electron beam increases its hardness by 5 times.