Abstract
Magnesium alloys are widely used as lightweight metals in cars and trucks, but they require special surface treatments to offset corrosion and wear limitations. One such treatment, electron beam remelting, is the focus of this present work. As described in the paper, copper and nickel powders were plasma sprayed onto magnesium in a vacuum chamber, then heated to melting temperatures with a swept electron beam. Copper and nickel were chosen because they form hard intermetallic compounds when melted with magnesium. The structure and properties of the remelted Cu- or Ni-alloyed surface layer were found to be dependent on the properties of the plasma sprayed coating and the parameters of the e-beam treatment. In the course of the investigation, the coatings were assessed based on their microstructure, the thickness of the remelting zone, occurring phases, and the determination of hardness and abrasive wear resistance.
