The welding technologies are widely used for design of protection layer against wear and corrosion. Hardfacing, which is destined for

obtaining coatings with high hardness, takes special place in these technologies. One of the most effective way of hardfacing is using self

shielded flux cored arc welding (FCAW-S). Chemical composition obtained in flux cored wire is much more rich in comparison to this

obtained in solid wire. The filling in flux cored wires can be enriched for example with the mixture of hard particles or phases with

specified ratio, which is not possible for solid wires. This is the reason why flux cored wires give various possibilities of application of this

kind of filler material for improving surface in mining industry, processing of minerals, energetic etc. In the present paper the high

chromium and niobium flux cored wire was used for hardfacing process with similar heat input. The work presents studies of

microstructures of obtained coatings and hardness and geometric properties of them. The structural studies were made with using optical

microscopy and X- ray diffraction that allowed for identification of carbides and other phases obtained in the structures of deposited

materials. Investigated samples exhibit differences in coating structures made with the same heat input 4,08 kJ/mm. There are differences

in size, shape and distribution of primary and eutectic carbides in structure. These differences cause significant changes in hardness of

investigated coatings.

In spite of the fact that in most applications, magnesium alloys are intended for operation in environments with room temperature, these

alloys are subject to elevated temperature and oxidizing atmosphere in various stages of preparation (casting, welding, thermal treatment).

At present, the studies focus on development of alloys with magnesium matrix, intended for plastic forming. The paper presents results of

studies on oxidation rate of WE43 and ZRE1 magnesium foundry alloys in dry and humidified atmosphere of N2+1%O2. Measurements of

the oxidation rate were carried out using a Setaram thermobalance in the temperature range of 350-480°C. Corrosion products were

analyzed by SEM-SEI, BSE and EDS. It was found that the oxide layer on the WE43 alloy has a very good resistance to oxidation. The

high protective properties of the layer should be attributed to the presence of yttrium in this alloy. On the other hand, a porous, two-layer

scale with a low adhesion to the substrate forms on the ZRE1 alloy. The increase in the sample mass in dry gas is lower than that in

humidified gas.

AISI 52100 bearing steels are commonly used in applications requiring high hardness and abrasion resistance. The bearing steels are

working under dynamic loads in service conditions and their toughness properties become important. In order to provide the desired

mechanical properties, various heat treatments (austenizing, quenching and tempering) are usually applied. In this study, AISI 52100

bearing steel samples were austenized at 900°C for ½ h and water quenched to room temperature. Then tempering was carried out at

795°C, 400°C and 200°C for ½ h. In order to investigate the effect of heat treatment conditions on wear behavior, dry friction tests were

performed according to ASTM G99-05 Standard with a ‘ball-on-disk’ type tribometer. The samples were tested against steel and ceramic

counterparts using the parameters of 100 m distance and 30 N load and 0.063 m/s rotational speed. After wear test, the surface

characterization was carried out using microscopy. Wear loss values were calculated using a novel optical method on both flat and

counterpart specimens.

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 the capabilities of welding techniques to creating properties of wear resistant high chromium cast iron alloy. The use

of the right kind of welding sequence allows you to change the structure and properties of the obtained welds. Tests were conducted for

one type of additive material in the form of self shielded core wire. In order to determine the effect of the type of welding sequence on the

properties of welds performed welding using string bead and weave bead. The resulting weld was tested on hardness and research structure

in an optical microscope. In the following studies have been made erosive tests wear of made hardfacing. String beads gave structure rich

in carbides and harder about 270 HV of the weld with weave bead. Also, wear resistance was nearly twice as better for welds made with

string beads. In the experiment a decisive role in the resistance to wear plays a high hardness of the deposit and the presence of carbides in

its structure. Changes in the basic parameters of the deposition process allows for the formation of structure and properties of hardfacing

welds in a wide range.

The paper describes existing requirements for tool materials. In the light of experience with these supplied materials, we have

demonstrated their considerable influence on the life of molds for die casting technology. From this research came the evaluation

methodology of these tool materials which has been used for directing the development of a new material. Based on the new regulation of

the chemical composition a sample was casted and forged after that. Then was determined the process of heat treatment and from a block

of this material a mold insert was produced. This insert is now being tested in production.

High-chromium cast irons are used as abrasion resistant materials. Their wear resistance depends on quantity of carbides and the matrix

supporting these carbides. The paper presents the results of cast irons of chemical composition (in wt. %) 19–22 Cr and 2–4.5 C alloyed by

1.7 Mo + 5 Ni + 2 Mn to improve their toughness, which were tested in working conditions of ferroalloys crushing. Tests showed that

these as-cast chromium cast irons with mostly austenitic matrix achieved the hardness of 38-45 HRC, but their relative abrasion resistance

Ψ ranged from 1.3 to 4.6, was higher comparing to the tool made from the X210Cr12 steel heat treated on hardness 61 HRC. The

transformation of austenite into martensite occurs not only at the worn strained areas (on a surface of scratch) but also in their

neighbourhood. Due to the work hardening of relatively large volumes of transformed austenite the cast iron possesses high abrasion

resistance also on the surfaces where low pressures are acting. The tough abrasion-resistant cast iron well proved for production of

dynamic and wear stressed castings e.g., crusher hammers, cutting tools for ceramic etc.

This paper discusses changes in the microstructure and abrasive wear resistance of G17CrMo5-5 cast steel modified with rare earth metals

(REM). The changes were assessed using scanning microscopy. The wear response was determined in the Miller test to ASTM G75.

Abrasion tests were supplemented with the surface profile measurements of non-modified and modified cast steel using a Talysurf CCI

optical profilometer. It was demonstrated that the modification substantially affected the microstructure of the alloy, leading to grain size

reduction and changed morphology of non-metallic inclusions. The observed changes in the microstructure resulted in a three times higher

impact strength (from 33 to 99 kJ/cm2

) and more than two times higher resistance to cracking (from 116 to 250 MPa). The following

surface parameters were computed: Sa: Arithmetic mean deviation of the surface, Sq: Root-mean-square deviation of the surface, Sp:

Maximum height of the peak

Sv: Maximum depth of the valley, Sz: Ten Point Average, Ssk: Asymmetry of the surface, Sku: Kurtosis of the surface. The findings also

indicated that the addition of rare earth metals had a positive effect on the abrasion behaviour of G17CrMo5-5 cast steel.

High prices of tin and its limited resources, as well as several valuable properties characterising Cu-Sn alloys, cause searching for materials of similar or better properties at lower production costs. The influence of various nickel additions to CuSn10 casting bronze and to CuSn8 bronze of a decreased tin content was tested. Investigations comprised melting processes and casting of tin bronzes containing various nickel additions (up to 5%). The applied variable conditions of solidification and cooling of castings (metal and ceramic moulds) allowed to assess these alloys sensitivity in forming macro and microstructures. In order to determine the direction of changes in the analysed Cu-Sn-Ni alloys, the metallographic and strength tests were performed. In addition, the solidification character was analysed on the basis of the thermal analysis tests. The obtained results indicated the influence of nickel in the solidification and cooling ways of the analysed alloys (significantly increased temperatures of the solidification beginning along with increased nickel fractions in Cu-Sn alloys) as well as in the microstructure pattern (clearly visible grain size changes). The hardness and tensile strength values were also changed. It was found, that decreasing of the tin content in the analysed bronzes to which approximately 3% of nickel was added, was possible, while maintaining the same ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and hardness (HB) and improved plasticity (A5).

Railway buffers during the operation are staying in almost permanent contact with each other, creating friction node in the point of contact

of two railway buffer heads. In consequence of overcoming track curves, turnouts and unevenness of track, the railway buffer heads moves

relative to each other causing friction, which results in its wear. When the wear is excessive, it might be a reason to withdrawn vehicle

from service, it causes flattening of buffer head, and in consequence its abnormal cooperation. To avoid this phenomenon the buffer heads

should be covered with graphitized grease, but this method has many disadvantages. Accordingly, it was found that it would be beneficial

to cover the buffer head with bronze using laser cladding. In this article the metallographic and mechanical analysis of the newly created

top layer of railway buffer head are presented. In article the results from tribological tests conducted on Amsler test bench are also

presented. Based on test results described in article concluded that the layer of bronze coat on working surface of railway buffer head can

be beneficial from operational point of view.