Formation of Plasma Powder Coatings from Cermet with Subsequent High-Energy Modification

The paper presents research on the effect of technological parameters of high-energy processing on the performance properties of powder coatings made of cermet. The use of pulse-plasma treatment is considered as an example of high-energy modification of coatings. As used powder coating materials, various versions of carbide-containing ceramics with the addition of a solid lubricant in an iron-based metal matrix have been selected in the paper. Coatings of carbide-containing ceramics with the addition of a solid lubricant in an iron-based metal matrix on are being developed to replace those of a nickel-based matrix. Such factors as crack resistance, wear resistance, workability, brittleness, as well as economic components often limit the use of powder materials based on carbide ceramics with the addition of solid lubricant in the matrix based on nickel. When only the wear process determines the service life of a part, such powder materials should be replaced with cheaper powder materials based on carbide ceramics with the addition of solid lubricant in an iron-based matrix. The proposed developments increase the wear resistance of the plasma coating due to the introduction of high-chromium steel and molybdenum into the material. Optimum porosity is formed in the initial powder mixture during the synthesis of FeCrMo–MoS2–TiC composite materials, there is an improvement in the technological parameters of powder materials, their utilization rate in plasma spraying increases, and the technology of applying wear-resistant plasma coatings becomes cheaper. The addition of the Mo element to the FeCr binder increases the wetting of titanium carbides by the binder melt during self-propagating high-temperature synthesis of the developed composite powder. Subsequent layer-by-layer processing of plasma-sprayed coatings from powders of the developed ceramics using repetitive pulses of plasma flows using different energy levels makes it possible to create strictly defined structures with necessary and controlled porosity, which decreases in a certain sequence from the outer treated layers to the base. Such treatment contributes to a significant increase in the wear resistance of the treated friction surfaces, increases the oil holding capacity, in addition, an increased adhesive and cohesive strength of the formed layers bordering the substrate is formed. Processing distances, the total number of impacts have been varied in accordance with the methodological developments, when changing the applied technological characteristics of pulse-plasma effects. The total number of plasma pulses influences on the created thickness of the plasma coating layers after treatment and contributes to the melting with compaction of the coatings obtained by the plasma treatment and the creation of a structure with hardened characteristics