Formation features of dispersion-strengthened surface layers in electron beam processing
摘要
The paper studies formation features of dispersion-strengthened surface layers during low-energy, high-current electron beam (LEHCEB) processing of Cr-Zr and B‑Ti systems. It is found that pulsed LEHCEB processing leads to the formation of the surface structures, including nano- and sub-microcrystalline Cr2Zr, TiB and TiB2 strengthening phases. Control for the phase composition and morphology of strengthening particles in both systems, allows reaching a combination of the higher hardness and wear resistance. The threshold Cr content identified for the Cr-Zr system, is ≈37 at.%. An increase in this content, causes the formation of a microcrack network due to thermal stresses induced the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the intermetallic phase and the matrix. At the same time, rather a high (≈56 at.%) boron content in the B‑Ti system leads to the formation of uniform surface layers more resistant to cracking, which is associated with the high thermal compatibility of boride phases and the matrix.