The paper deals with the issue of potential for improvement of resistance of wood chip fine grinders to abrasive wear by providing them with WCCoCr coating applied with the use of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The study focused on establishing parameters of the technological process of spraying a 250–270 μm thick coating onto surface of ductile cast iron castings used to date as grinder linings. The presented data include results of microstructure examination, chemical composition analysis, HV hardness measurements, and scratch tests for both previous and new variant of linings. The obtained scratch test results indicate that the material of the coating is characterized with definitely lower susceptibility to scratching. The scratch made on coating was 75–84 μm wide and 7.2–8.2 μm deep, while the scratch on cast iron was distinctly wider (200–220 μm) and deeper (8.5–12.8 μm). In case of cast iron, the range of variability in scratch width and depth was definitely larger. This can be explained with large difference in hardness of individual components of microstructure of cast iron and significantly larger plastic deformation of cast iron compared to the coating revealed in the course of indenter motion over surfaces of the two materials. It has been found that application of WCCoCr coating offered better resistance of lining surfaces to scratching which can be considered a rationale for undertaking in-service tests.

A common problem encountered in hydraulic valves is a progressing deterioration of tightness of their water flow cutting-off seats. The seats are provided usually with a copper-alloy insert joined mechanically with cast-iron valve housing. The problem of unreliability of such joints can be solved by providing surface of the seat with a coating, deposited with the use of HVOF method and resistant to abrasive and cavitation wear. The tests were carried out for a sealing-draining seat insert made of CuZn39Pb2Al brass used to date and a specimen taken from the cast-iron valve housing which was the substrate for a plasma-sprayed coating of powder containing 86.1% Cr, 7.2% Ni, and 6.7% C. The coating, 345 ± 15 μm thick, was characterized with good quality of bonding with cast-iron substrate and high compactness of the material. The cavitation wear test on materials used in the study were carried out with the use of Vibra-Cell ultrasonic liquid processor (Sonics) equipped with a piezoelectric probe operating at the frequency of 20 kHz. Based on profilograms taken along a line crossing centers of cavitation craters, measurements of the height parameter Rt, and microscopic observations of surfaces it has been found that the coating plasma-sprayed onto substrate of nodular cast iron demonstrated higher resistance to cavitation compared to copper-alloy inserts used so far in cast-iron hydraulic valves. Cavitation craters on the material used typically for valve seats to date were more distinctly outlined and deeper compared to craters observed on the coating. Larger were also sizes of local tear-outs which resulted in larger difference between the peaks line and the valleys line.

The paper deals with susceptibility of nodular cast iron with ferritic -pearlitic matrix on cavitation erosion . Cavitation tests were carried out with the use of a cavitation erosion vibratory apparatus employing a vibration exciter operated at frequency of 20 kHz. The study allowed to determine the sequence of subsequent stages in which microstr ucture of cast iron in superficial regions is subject to degradation. The first features to be damaged are graphite precipitates. The ferritic matrix of the alloy turned out to be definitely less resistant to cavitation erosion compared to the pearlitic matrix component.

The paper presents results of a study on the effect of the flux density of heat carried away for the remelting area to substrate in the course of surface remelting with concentrated heat stream on values of structural parameters λ1D and λ2D of α(Al) phase dendrites in C355 alloy. The remeltings were made with the use of GTAW method, at arc current intensity I = 200 A and concentrated heat stream scanning speed vs = 200, 400, 600, and 800 mm/min. The used protective gas was argon supplied at rate of 20 l/min. It has been found that the increase of the rate of scanning with concentrated heat stream results in a change of the remelting-substrate separation surface shape consisting in reduction of the remelting width and depth. This increases the value of the flux density of heat transmitted from the remelting area to substrate which in turn acts in favor of reduction of structural parameters λ1D and λ2D characterizing α(Al) phase dendrites in C355 alloy.

The paper discusses the possibility of improving resistance of heat exchangers made of gray cast iron with flake graphite to hightemperature corrosion by providing them with metallic coatings. A metallic coating containing 76.9% Ni, 19.8% Cr, 1.7% Si, 0.9% Fe, and 0.9% Mn was applied by means of the plasma spraying method and subjected to cyclically variable thermal loads in the atmosphere of solid fuels combustion products (oxygen, sulfur, chlorine, and sodium). In a 30-day thermal load test held at temperature 500°C it has been found that thickness of the metallic coating decreased from the initial (240 ± 6) μm to (231 ± 6) μm. The depth to which sulfur, chlorine, and sodium penetrated the coating was about 30 μm. Increased oxygen content occurred along the whole coating depth. In the coating area adjacent to the substrate surface, the content was twice as high compared to this observed in the initial coating material. Although presence of oxygen was found within the whole depth of the coating, i.e. (231 ± 6) μm, no signs of susceptibility of the sprayed metallic layer to separation from substrate of gray cast iron with flake graphite were found.

The present paper is a presentation of results of a study on morphology, chemical composition, material properties (HVIT, HIT, EIT), and nanoindentation elastic and plastic work for carbide precipitates in chromium cast iron containing 24% Cr. It has been found that the carbides differ in chemical composition, as well as in morphology and values characterizing their material properties. The carbides containing the most chromium which had the shape of thick and long needles were characterized with highest values of the analyzed material properties.

By reviewing the current state of the art, this paper opens a Special Section titled “The Internet of Things and AI-driven optimization in the Industry 4.0 paradigm”. The topics of this section are part of the broader issues of integration of IoT devices, cloud computing, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence to optimize industrial processes and increase efficiency. It also focuses on how to use modern methods (i.e. computerization, robotization, automation, machine learning, new business models, etc.) to integrate the entire manufacturing industry around current and future economic and social goals. The article presents the state of knowledge on the use of the Internet of Things and optimization based on artificial intelligence within the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The authors review the previous and current state of knowledge in this field and describe known opportunities, limitations, directions for further research, and industrial applications of the most promising ideas and technologies, considering technological, economic, and social opportunities.