Application of pulsed plasma accelerators for surface modification

A pulsed coaxial plasma accelerator was utilized in the experiments discussed in this paper. Plasma streams with ion energy up to 2 keV, plasma density 2-3x10(14) cm(-3), and plasma energy density 5-40 J/cm(-2), were generated. Such a plasma was used for the surface modification of different constructional steels. Experimental results on improvement of physical properties of metal surfaces (first of all tribological characteristics), under their irradiation by pulsed plasma streams are presented. Optimization of the treatment process was carried out varying plasma energy flux, plasma density, and energy of ions. It was shown that microhardness of the steel samples, both non-quenched and previously quenched, was increased by several times after plasma irradiation. The main attention was paid to the analysis of wear resistance of the treated material by using different methods of wear tests. The possibility to achieve a sufficient decrease of the wear rate of the treated samples was demonstrated.