Surface alloying by pulsed intense electron beams.

 

G. Mueller1*, V. Engelko 2, A. Weisenburger 1, A. Heinzel 1

 

1- Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, IHM, Postfach 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

2- Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus, 196641, St. Petersburg, Russia

*Corresponding author. Tel +49-7247-82-4669; fax:+49-7247-82-2256 E-mail: georg.mueller@ihm.fzk.de

 

Abstract

 

Pulsed intense electron beams are applied for modifications of material surface properties, namely, for a change of microstructure and phase composition, for phase mixing and the creation of metastable states. The modifications originate not only from super fast solidification of the material surface, but also from the creation of alloys in the modified surface layer. The procedure of surface alloying is the following: on the surface of a base material a layer of another material or material composite is deposited by a certain way (for example, using a thin foil, galvanic or vapour deposition). The thickness of the layer must be less than the penetration depth of electrons in this layer. Treating the surface by electron beam leads to mixing of the deposited layer and the base material.

In this report results of numerical calculations and experimental studies of the thickness of modified layers, distribution of implanted materials, microstructure and phase composition inside the layers are presented. Possible physical mechanisms of the alloying are discussed. In a second part the improvement of surface properties, especially corrosion resistance against liquid lead, are presented. It is shown that corrosion of OPTIFER IVc steel by liquid lead containing 8×10-6 at% oxygen is avoided by alloying of Al into the surface