FAST DEPOSITION OF METALLURGICAL COATING AND PRODUCTION OF SURFACE ALLOYS USING A PULSED HIGH CURRENT VACUUM ARC.

An investigation was conducted of the metallurgical treatments produced on an anode in a pulsed 1-kA vacuum arc. Generally a combination of deposition and heating effects could be produced, depending on material combination and arcing conditions. Very high deposition rates (approximately 25 microns/s) are calculated based on the ion flow, and even higher rates (exceeding 100 microns/s) are observed if part of the macroparticle flow is incorporated into the coating. Concurrent workpiece heating can, depending on the arcing conditions, encourage interdiffusion of the coating and substrate materials forming a metallurgical bond, melt the substrate surface in the presence of the plasma flow, forming surface alloys and inducing martensite formation near the surface of steel workpieces.