Deposition of amorphous hardening coatings by electrospark treatment in a crystalline granule mixture

The article focuses on the preparation of amorphous coatings on the Steel 1035 surface by electric spark treat the coating composition control by changing the granule mixture composition was studied. EDS analysis showed that the coatings obtained contain W, Mo, Co and Ni in different ratios. The weight of granules having different compositions decreased by 11–16 wt.% in 6 hours of treatment as a result of electric erosion. The mass transfer coefficient varied from 33 to 54 %. X -ray diffraction analysis showed the predominance of the amorphous phase in the composition of layers deposited. Annealing of the coatings at 1150 °C led to amorphous phase crystallization into M23(C,B)6 type borocarbide and α-Fe. The coatings had an increased microhardness of 10–15 GPa, and their wear resistance under dry sliding wear conditions at 10 and 50 N loads was 3,3 and 1,6 times higher, respectively, than in Steel 1035. The highest values at both loads were shown by samples without nickel, while samples without tungsten featured the lowest values. The coatings had a friction coefficient within 0,27–0,31 that is lower than for Steel 1035 by 13–30 %. Wear resistance of the coatings under dry abrasive wear conditions at the 25 N load was 3 to 5 times higher as compared to uncoated Steel 1035. Samples without nickel demonstrated the best performance, while samples without cobalt had the worst indicators. Thus, it was shown that tungsten and cobalt increase wear resistance of iron-based amorphous alloys, while nickel and molybdenum tend to worsen their tribotechnical behavior.