Effect of Nanosize Structures on Physical Characteristics of Hard Metal Subsurface

Both experimental data and the classification of structural scale levels developed in the subsurface of TiC/Ni-Cr-Al alloy cermet after pulse electron beam melting have been presented. The effect of different scale levels of surface nanosize structures on physical properties of the subsurface metal has been investigated. Results show that nanorestructuring of carbide particles in the subsurface layer occurs under the irradiation in either xenon- or xenon+nitrogen containing gas discharge plasma which greatly reduces friction coefficient and improves endurance of the cermet for cutting metal by a factor of 20.