Abstract
UDC 544.558+66.088
DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4045823
The diffusion saturation of metals and alloys with carbon under the conditions of electrolysis plasma has been successfully studied for decades due to new possibilities and a number of advantages. These include a high processing speed at which the carburising duration is several minutes, combining with quenching in the same electrolyte without reheating, local processing of some parts, and the use of environmentally friendly and inexpensive aqueous solutions. To date, electrolyte compositions and processing modes for various steel and titanium alloys have been proposed, as well as new information on the mechanism of the formation of a gaseous-plasma saturating medium and the regularities of carbon saturation. Information obtained by many research groups needs both analysis and synthesis. This review discusses the physical and chemical aspects of plasma electrolytic carburising, as well as the conditions and results of its practical use. Attention is paid to the influence of the main factors of diffusion saturation with carbon on the achieved values of microhardness and roughness, wear and corrosion resistances of the processed materials under various test conditions.
Keywords: plasma electrolytic carburising, steel, diffusion saturation, microhardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance.