Nanotechnology in compressor and pump engineering

Abstract

The influence of ion implantation on the state of surface microrelief of high-alloy steels has been studied. The relationships of the complex roughness parameter of 12Kh18N10T steel with the energy of particles implanted with molybdenum ions as well as of the microhardness HV with the depth of indentor penetration into the specimen implanted with molybdenum, yttrium, and molybdenum + yttrium ions are given.In order to extend the service life of machines and fast-wearing parts and units, in most cases new materials are used and technological methods of their treatment are refined.One of the efficient methods of surface treatment of parts (application of coatings) is plasma sputtering, which holds greater potentialities than all other known methods and allows creation of coatings from virtually all elements of the Mendeleev periodic table [1].Of the large variety of plasma sputtering methods, worthy of distinction is ion implantation that improves many operational characteristics of machines and units of pump, vacuum, and compressor machinery. In ion implantation, positive and negative ions and neutral atoms act as the primary particles, and implantation of molecular compounds is also possible. Ion implantation can be used as the technological method of finishing treatment, which helps reduce surface roughness, improve tribotechnical characteristics, and enhance wear and corrosion resistance of components and parts [2][3][4].Implantation is a nonequilibrium thermodynamic process, which can be used to create alloys and compounds that are, in principle, impossible to get by conventional methods and to attain concentrations of injected (implanted) impurities beyond their limits of solubility in the original substance [4][5][6].The service life and operational fitness of components and parts of machines and units of compressor machinery depend on stresses generated in the material during its treatment, hardness of the surface layer, and surface microrelief and adhesiveness.A series of experiments were performed at the Omsk State Engineering University (OmGTU) on an NNV-6.6-I1 installation with a Dian pulse-frequency-action vacuum-arc source for discerning the implantation conditions in which the most suitable combination of operational characteristics of surfaces of parts could be realized.The effect of ion implantation on the state of surface microrelief of high-alloy steels was investigated by atomicforce microscopy using a Solver Pro probe microscope. The experiment enabled us to get color images of surfaces and cross and longitudinal profilograms and to calculate roughness indices. In order to enhance the reliability of the obtained results, we studied two batches of specimens with different initial roughness. We analyzed the surfaces of the original specimens, specimens implanted with molybdenum, yttrium, scandium, and gadolinium ions, and a specimen treated successively with molybdenum and yttrium ions.