During the last decades, electron-beam treatment technologies (EBTT) have been widely used for surface modification of metals and alloys. The EBT methods are known as accurate and efficient. They have many advantages in comparison with the conventional techniques, such as very short technological process time, uniform distribution of the energy of the electron beam, which allows a precise control of the beam parameters and formed structure and properties of the materials, etc. Moreover, electron-beam treatment technologies are a part of the additive techniques, which are known as modern methods for manufacturing of new materials with unique functional properties. Currently, modern trends in the surface treatment of metals and alloys are based on the combination of electron-beam technologies with other methods, such as thin film deposition, plasma nitriding, etc. This approach results in a significant improvement in the surface properties of the materials which opens new potential applications and can involve them into new industrial fields. This paper aims to summarize the topics related to the manufacturing and surface treatment of metals and alloys by means of electron-beam technologies. Based on a literature review, the development and growth of EBT are considered in details. The benefits of these technologies—as well as their combination with other methods—are extensively discussed.

This study examines the effect of electron beam treatment (EBT) of Co–Cr substrate on the film growth mechanism, mechanical properties, and surface topography of TiN/TiO₂ coatings deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. The obtained results and processes that occurred during the deposition are discussed in the context of crystallographic principles, and special attention is paid to the crystallographic orientation and growth mechanism studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties were investigated by means of nanoindentation and wear tests. The surface topography was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results obtained in the present study showed that polycrystalline TiN and anatase TiO₂ phases were present in all cases. Electron beam treatment of Co–Cr substrate tended to form a reorientation of the microvolumes from (111) to (200) of TiN, leading to a change in the growth mechanism from three-dimensional (Volmer–Weber) to layer-by-layer (Frank–van der Merwe). It was found that the electron beam treatment process did not significantly affect the thickness of the coatings and the deposition rate. The treatment process led to an increase in surface roughness. The higher surface roughness after the EBT process should be appropriate to support cell growth and adhesion on the surface of the deposited bilayer coating. It was demonstrated that EBT of the substrate caused a decrease in hardness of the deposited coatings from 10 to 5 GPa. The observed decrease in hardness was attributed to the change in the preferred crystallographic orientation and film growth mechanism. The hardness of the bilayer coating after the application of EBT of the Co–Cr substrate was much closer to that of human bones, which means that severe stress shielding effect could not be expected. The evaluated coefficient of friction (COF) exhibited significantly lower values in the case of EBT of the substrate compared to the untreated Co–Cr material.

In this study, we present the results of Young’s modulus and coefficient of friction (COF) of Ti–Ta surface alloys formed by electron-beam surface alloying by a scanning electron beam. Ta films were deposited on the top of Ti substrates, and the specimens were then electron-beam surface alloyed, where the beam power was varied from 750 to 1750 W. The structure of the samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Young’s modulus was studied by a nanoindentation test. The coefficient of friction was studied by a micromechanical wear experiment. It was found that at 750 W, the Ta film remained undissolved on the top of the Ti, and no alloyed zone was observed. By an increase in the beam power to 1250 and 1750 W, a distinguished alloyed zone is formed, where it is much thicker in the case of 1750 W. The structure of the obtained surface alloys is in the form of double-phase α’and β. In both surface alloys formed by a beam power of 1250 and 1750 W, respectively, Young’s modulus decreases about two times due to different reasons: in the case of alloying by 1250 W, the observed drop is attributed to the larger amount of the β phase, while at 1750 W is it due to the weaker binding forces between the atoms. The results obtained for the COF show that the formation of the Ti–Ta surface alloy on the top of Ti substrate leads to a decrease in the coefficient of friction, where the effect is more pronounced in the case of the formation of Ti–Ta surface alloys by a beam power of 1250 W.

In this study, we present the results of electron-beam welding of joints with 304-L stainless steel and copper. The influence of the beam’s power on the structures and mechanical properties of the welded joints was studied; the experiments were realized at a beam deflection of 0.3 mm to the Cu plate and beam powers of 2400, 3000, and 3600 W. The phase compositions of the obtained welded joints were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD); the microstructure and chemical composition were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. The mechanical properties were studied by using tensile experiments and microhardness investigations. The phase compositions of the welded joints were in the forms of substitutional solid solutions between Fe, Cu, and pure copper and remained unchanged in terms of power. It was found that the microstructures changed gradually with the application of different values of the power of the electron beam. The results of the tensile tests showed higher tensile strengths at lower beam powers (i.e., 2400 and 3000 W) that dropped at 3600 W. The relative elongations rose with increases in the power of the electron beam. Moreover, it was found that the microhardnesses strongly depended on the applied technological conditions (defined by the electron beam’s power) and the corresponding microstructures of the welded joints.

Changes in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material properties due to neutron irradiation are monitored by means of surveillance specimen programs, which are used for realistic evaluation of the RPVs’ lifetime. Due to a limited number of surveillance specimens, the evaluation of reconstitution methods by various welding techniques after Charpy impact tests is of great importance. Time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffraction method was used to determine the residual stress distributions and microstructural changes in Charpy specimens welded by arc stud, electron, and laser beam welding techniques. The lowest level of the residual stress in weld seams regions was found for the specimen welded by electron beam with optimal parameters as compared to other techniques. At the same time, this specimen exhibits the maximal level of microstrain, which points to high dislocation density in the material. The corresponding contributions to the yield strength due to various strengthening mechanisms were estimated.