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Materials
Volume 18
Issue 21
10.3390/ma18215005
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Article

Improving the Wear Resistance of Steel-Cutting Tools for Nuclear Power Facilities by Electrospark Alloying with Hard Transition Metal Borides

by
Oksana Haponova
1,2,*,
Viacheslav Tarelnyk
3,
Tomasz Mościcki
1,
Katarzyna Zielińska
1,
Oleksandr Myslyvchenko
4,
Kamil Bochenek
5,
Dariusz Garbiec
6,
Gennadii Laponog
2 and
Jaroslaw Jan Jasinski
7,8
1
Department of Experimental Mechanics, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawińskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
2
Applied Material Science and Technology of Constructional Materials Department, Sumy State University, Kharkivska 116, 40007 Sumy, Ukraine
3
Technical Service and Industrial Engineering Department, Sumy National Agrarian University, H. Kondratiieva 160, 40021 Sumy, Ukraine
4
Physical Chemistry of Inorganic Materials Department, I. M. Frantsevich Institute for Problems in Materials Science, Omeliana Pritsaka 3, 04060 Kyiv, Ukraine
5
Department of Mechanics of Materials, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawińskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
6
Łukasiewicz Research Network–Poznań Institute of Technology, Ewarysta Estkowskiego 6, 61-755 Poznań, Poland
7
National Centre for Nuclear Research, Centre of Excellence in Multifunctional Materials NOMATEN, A. Soltana 7, 05-400 Otwock/Swierk, Poland
8
National Centre for Nuclear Research, Materials Physics Department, A. Soltana 7, 05-400 Otwock/Swierk, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2025, 18(21), 5005; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215005 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 October 2025 / Revised: 28 October 2025 / Accepted: 30 October 2025 / Published: 1 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Coatings for Surface Engineering: Deposition, Properties and Applications)
Versions Notes

Abstract

This study focuses on improving the wear resistance of cutting tools and extending their service life under intense mechanical, thermal, and radiation loads in nuclear power plant environments. This research investigates the potential of electrospark alloying (ESA) using W–Zr–B system electrodes obtained from disks synthesised by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The novelty of this work lies in the use of SPS-synthesised W–Zr–B ceramics, which are promising for nuclear applications due to their high thermal stability, radiation resistance and neutron absorption, as ESA electrodes. This work also establishes the relationship between discharge energy, coating microstructure and performance. The alloying electrode material exhibited a heterogeneous microstructure containing WB2, ZrB2, and minor zirconium oxides, with high hardness (26.6 ± 1.8 GPa) and density (8.88 g/cm3, porosity <10%). ESA coatings formed on HS6-5-2 steel showed a hardened layer up to 30 µm thick and microhardness up to 1492 HV, nearly twice that of the substrate (~850 HV). Elemental analysis revealed enrichment of the surface with W, Zr, and B, which gradually decreased toward the substrate, confirming diffusion bonding. XRD analysis revealed a multiphase structure comprising WB2, ZrB2, WB4, and BCC/FCC solid solutions, indicating the formation of complex boride phases during the ESA process. Tribological tests demonstrated significantly enhanced wear resistance of ESA coatings. The results confirm the efficiency of ESA as a simple, low-cost, and energy-efficient method for local strengthening and restoration of cutting tools.
Keywords: electrospark alloying; W–Zr–B electrodes; SPS; coatings; phase composition; microstructure; hardness; steel electrospark alloying; W–Zr–B electrodes; SPS; coatings; phase composition; microstructure; hardness; steel

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MDPI and ACS Style

Haponova, O.; Tarelnyk, V.; Mościcki, T.; Zielińska, K.; Myslyvchenko, O.; Bochenek, K.; Garbiec, D.; Laponog, G.; Jasinski, J.J. Improving the Wear Resistance of Steel-Cutting Tools for Nuclear Power Facilities by Electrospark Alloying with Hard Transition Metal Borides. Materials 2025, 18, 5005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215005

AMA Style

Haponova O, Tarelnyk V, Mościcki T, Zielińska K, Myslyvchenko O, Bochenek K, Garbiec D, Laponog G, Jasinski JJ. Improving the Wear Resistance of Steel-Cutting Tools for Nuclear Power Facilities by Electrospark Alloying with Hard Transition Metal Borides. Materials. 2025; 18(21):5005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215005

Chicago/Turabian Style

Haponova, Oksana, Viacheslav Tarelnyk, Tomasz Mościcki, Katarzyna Zielińska, Oleksandr Myslyvchenko, Kamil Bochenek, Dariusz Garbiec, Gennadii Laponog, and Jaroslaw Jan Jasinski. 2025. "Improving the Wear Resistance of Steel-Cutting Tools for Nuclear Power Facilities by Electrospark Alloying with Hard Transition Metal Borides" Materials 18, no. 21: 5005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215005

APA Style

Haponova, O., Tarelnyk, V., Mościcki, T., Zielińska, K., Myslyvchenko, O., Bochenek, K., Garbiec, D., Laponog, G., & Jasinski, J. J. (2025). Improving the Wear Resistance of Steel-Cutting Tools for Nuclear Power Facilities by Electrospark Alloying with Hard Transition Metal Borides. Materials, 18(21), 5005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215005

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