Structural and Tribological Studies of “(TiC + WC)/Hardened Steel” PMMC Coating Deposited by Air Pulsed Plasma
Yuliia Chabak,
Vasily Efremenko,
Vadym Zurnadzhy,
Viktor Puchý,
Ivan Petryshynets,
Bohdan Efremenko,
Victor Fedun,
Kazumichi Shimizu,
Iurii Bogomol,
Volodymyr Kulyk,
Dagmar Jakubéczyová
Affiliations
Yuliia Chabak
Physics Department, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 87555 Mariupol, Ukraine
Vasily Efremenko
Physics Department, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 87555 Mariupol, Ukraine
Vadym Zurnadzhy
Physics Department, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 87555 Mariupol, Ukraine
Viktor Puchý
Division of Metallic Systems, Institute of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia
Ivan Petryshynets
Division of Metallic Systems, Institute of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia
Bohdan Efremenko
Physics Department, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 87555 Mariupol, Ukraine
Victor Fedun
Physics Department, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, 87555 Mariupol, Ukraine
Kazumichi Shimizu
Course of Robotics and Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Engineering Design Center, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, Muroran 050-8585, Japan
Iurii Bogomol
Department of High-Temperature Materials and Powder Metallurgy, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, 03056 Kyiv, Ukraine
Volodymyr Kulyk
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 79013 Lviv, Ukraine
Dagmar Jakubéczyová
Division of Metallic Systems, Institute of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia
The deposition of a thin (several tens of microns) protective coating in atmospheric conditions is a challenging task for surface engineering. The structural features and tribological properties of a particle-reinforced metal matrix composite coating synthesized on middle-carbon steel by air pulse-plasma treatments were studied in the present work. The 24–31 µm thick coating of “24 vol.% (TiC + WC)/Hardened steel matrix” was produced by 10 plasma pulses generated by an electro-thermal axial plasma accelerator equipped with a consumable cathode of novel design (low-carbon steel tube filled with “TiC/WC + Epoxy resin” mixture). The study included optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD, microhardness measurements, and dry “Ball-on-Plate” testing. The carbides were directly plasma-transferred to the substrate (steel of AISI 4145H grade) from the cathode without substantial melting. The hard (500–1044 HV) coating matrix consisted of 57 vol.% austenite (1.43 wt.% C) and 43 vol.% plate martensite was formed via carbon enrichment of steel from plasma flow. Additionally, a minor amount of oxide phases (TiO2, WO2, WO3) were dispersed in the matrix. As compared to substrate, the coating had a lower coefficient of friction; its volumetric wear was decreased by 4.4 times when sliding against hardened steel ball and by 16 times when sliding against SiC ball.