Re-Melting Technique with High Intense Pulsed Plasma Beams Applied for Surface Modification of Steel - Own Investigations

The plasma beams were generated in a Rod Plasma Injector (RPI) operated in the Deposition by Pulsed Erosion (DPE) and Pulse Implantation Doping (DPE) modes. Samples of unalloyed and austenitic stainless steels were irradiated with short (μs scale) intense (energy density 2.0-5.0 J/cm2) pulses. The near surface layer - thickness in μm range - was melted and simultaneously doped with active element like nitrogen, cerium and lanthanum. Heating and cooling processes were of non-equilibrium type. The most important obtained results were: (i) austenitic structure was present in unalloyed steels after HIPPB modification processes and (ii) modified surface layers of austenitic stainless steel showed significant improvement of tribological properties and increase of high temperature oxidation resistance as compared with initial material.