Materials for the electrospark strengthening and reconditioning of worn metal surfaces

Abstract

The aim of this work is the development of technology for obtaining electrode materials from Colmonoy-WC alloys and hard alloys containing TiC, WC, Mo₂C, Tin, Co, Cr, Ni, and Al. The phase composition and structure are studied along with the kinetics of mass transfer, hardness, and wear resistance of electrospark coatings made of the manufactured alloys. The methods used were metallography and electron microscopy and X-ray phase and durometric analyses. It was shown that the alloys Colmonoy (Ni-Ni₃B–Si–Cu), Colmonoy-10% WC, and Colmonoy-25% WC have a eutectic structure. With an increase in the WC content in the alloys, the structure is found to be an aggregation of the phases of a hard solution based on nickel and tungsten carboborosilicide. At the pulse energy of 7.5 J, the thickness of the coatings formed was 3–4 mm. The wear resistance of the coatings increased with the growth of the WC content in the coatings from 64.5 μm/km for Colmonoy to 18.5 μm/km for the alloy with 70% WC, and the steel wear resistance under those conditions was 160 μm/km. It was established that the structure and composition of the manufactured electrode materials from the hard alloys based on TiC and WC carbides make it possible to produce electrospark coatings with a thickness up to 100 μm and hardness up to 20–24 GPa. The developed materials can be used to harden/recondition worn workpieces made of constructional steels by the electrospark method.