FAST DEPOSITION OF METALLURGICAL COATINGS AND PRODUCTION OF SURFACE ALLOYS USING A PULSED HIGH-CURRENT VACUUM-ARC

A preliminary investigation was conducted on the metallurgical treatments produced on a planar workpiece connected as an anode in a pulsed 1 kA vacuum arc. Generally a combination of deposition and heating effects could be produced. Very high deposition rates (approximately 25 mu m s ** minus **1) are calculated on the basis of the ion flow, and even higher rates (exceeding 100 mu m s** minus **1) are observed if part of the macroparticle flow is incorporated into the coating. The concurrent heating of the workpiece can, depending on the arcing conditions, promote interdiffusion of the coating and substrate materials forming a metallurgical bond, can melt the substrate surface in the presence of the plasma flow forming surface alloys and can induce martensite formation near the surface of steel workpieces.