Studying wear-resistant coatings applied to samples of structural steel used for manufacturing shafts of hydrofoils

Effective interaction of structural elements and materials from which they are made is one of the most important tasks in the design of parts and mechanisms of ship power plants. The operating experience of Meteor-type vessels has shown that the main cause of propeller shaft breakage and failure may be non-compliance with the technical requirements for the chemical-thermal processing of the shaft necks to the bearings size or poor-quality superficial coating. There has been made a comparative analysis of coating technologies, its results will significantly increase the cyclic wear resistance of the surface layer of the shaft necks of the hydrofoil ship shafting. The technologies of gas-plasma and gas-dynamic spraying, as well as electrospark alloying of the surface are considered. An instrumental assessment of the parameters of the applied protective coating quality is performed. Alloying materials for each of the methods of the surface hardening and modification are also presented. The scheme and design of the stand for testing the applied coatings for cyclic fatigue strength up to the moment of critical failure are given. The coatings deposited on the samples surfaces are studied to assess the surface microgeometry and microhardness. The samples are tested on the stand with a cyclic load at an induction motor shaft speed of 1800 rpm (30 rps). A bearing ball made of steel is used as an indenter. After testing, the focus of the coating destruction is assessed visually using a measuring and computing complex based on an optical microscope. As a result of the tests, it is revealed that the samples processed by the electrospark alloying method have the highest resistance to alternating cyclic effects, the lowest surface roughness and the highest microhardness.