In this paper, the possibility of applying the electrospark alloying (ESA) method to obtain boron-containing coatings characterised by increased hardness and wear resistance is considered. A new method for producing such coatings is proposed. The method consists in applying grease containing aluminium powder and amorphous boron to the surface to be treated and subsequently processing the obtained surface using the ESA method by a graphite electrode. The microstructural analysis of the Al-C-B coatings on steel C40 showed that the surface layer consists of several zones, the number and parameters of which are determined by the energy conditions of the ESA process. Durametric studies showed that with an increase in the discharge energy influence, the microhardness values of both the upper strengthened layer and the diffusion zone increased to W_p = 0.13 J, Hµ = 6487 MPa, and W_p = 4.9 J, Hµ = 12350 MPa, respectively. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that at the discharge energies of 0.13 and 0.55 J, the phase composition of the coating is represented by solid solutions of body-centred cubic lattice (BCC) and face-centred cubic lattice (FCC). The coatings obtained at W_p = 4.9 J were characterised by the presence of intermetallics Fe₄Al₁₃ and borocementite Fe₃ (CB) in addition to the solid solutions. The X-ray spectral analysis of the obtained coatings indicated that during the electrospark alloying process, the surface layers were saturated with aluminium, boron, and carbon. With increasing discharge energy, the diffusion zone increases; during the ESA process with the use of the discharge energy of 0.13 J for steel C40, the diffusion zone is 10–15 μm. When replacing a substrate made of steel C40 with the same one material but of steel C22, an increase in the thickness of the surface layer accompanied by a slight decrease in microhardness is observed as a result of processing with the use of the ESA method. There were simulated phase portraits of the Al-C-B coatings. It is shown that near the stationary points in the phase portraits, one can see either a slowing down of the evolution or a spiral twisting of the diffusion-process particle.

The authors of this paper have attempted to improve the quality of surface layers applied to steel elements of machine parts constituting friction couples. The main goal of the research was to investigate an electrospark alloying method process for obtaining abrasion-resistant tribological coatings containing molybdenum disulfide on a steel surface. A substance in the form of sulfur ointment with a sulfur content of 33.3% was applied on the surfaces of C22 and C40 steel specimens. In order to determine the influence of the energy parameters of ESA equipment on the quality parameters of coatings, the ESA process was carried out using a molybdenum electrode with discharge energies Wp = 0.13; Wp = 0.55; Wp = 3.4 J. The following tests were carried out on specimens with such coatings: metallographic analysis, microhardness tests, surface roughness, and local X-ray diffraction microanalysis. The experiments revealed that sulfomolybdenum coatings consist of four zones with different mechanical properties. Depending on the discharge energy and the substrate material, the hardness of these zones varies from approx. 1100 to over 10,000 MPa. Differences in the distribution of, among others, sulfur and molybdenum in the obtained coatings, as well as differences in the microstructure of the observed coatings, were observed.

Alloys of the AlCrFeCoNiCu _x system (x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) were smelted by argon-arc smelting in pure argon. The phase composition and structure of fabricated alloys are investigated and their mechanical properties are determined. The results showed that an increase in the amount of copper in alloys leads to a change in the phase composition from single phase (bcc) to three phase (bcc + fcc₁ + fcc₂), which is accompanied by the structural change from coarse-grain polygonal structure to complex dendritic structure (primary dendrites (DR) + secondary dendrites (SDR) + interdendrite phase (ID)). The region of electron concentrations of alloys, in which bcc and fcc phases are present simultaneously, is determined. The limiting electron concentration of stability of the bcc lattice is found experimentally. Microhardness is measured and Young moduli of alloys over the entire range of varying the copper concentration are determined.

The effect of the nickel concentration on the phase composition, microstructure, and hardness of VCrMnFeCoNi _x (x = 0–3) high-entropy alloys has been studied. The structure of the cast system has been composed of fcc solid solution and σ-phase, and both phases are multicomponent. It has been found that an increase of the nickel concentration decreases the volume fraction of the σ-phase. As a result of the reduction of the amount of the solid σ-phase the microhardness of alloys has been detected to decrease from 12 GPa at x = 0 to 4.1 GPa at x =3.