The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC

Mei, Shunqi; Mikheev, Roman; Bykov, Pavel; Kalashnikov, Igor; Kobeleva, Lubov; Sliva, Andrey; Terentyev, Egor

doi:10.3390/lubricants14020050

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC

by

Shunqi Mei

^1,*,

Roman Mikheev

^2,*

,

Pavel Bykov

³

,

Igor Kalashnikov

³,

Lubov Kobeleva

³,

Andrey Sliva

⁴

and

Egor Terentyev

⁴

¹

Hubei Digital Textile Equipment Key Laboratory, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430073, China

²

Mechanical Engineering Technologies Faculty, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 105005 Moscow, Russia

³

Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334 Moscow, Russia

⁴

Department of Metal Technology, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, 111250 Moscow, Russia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Lubricants 2026, 14(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020050

Submission received: 18 December 2025 / Revised: 20 January 2026 / Accepted: 23 January 2026 / Published: 25 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development Trends in Surface Engineering Modification for Improving Tribological Properties of Alloys and Composite Polymer Materials)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

The influence of electron beam treatment parameters (electron gun speed, electron beam current, scanning frequency, and sweep type) on the structure and properties of the surface layer of the composite material AlMg3-5SiC has been investigated. Composite specimens of AlMg₃ alloy reinforced with 5 wt.% silicon carbide particles were manufactured via the stir casting process. Experimentally, processing modes with heat input from 120 to 240 J/mm yield a modified layer thickness from 74 to 1705 µm. Heat input should not exceed 150 J/mm to ensure a smooth and defect-free surface layer. The macro- and microstructure were examined using optical microscopy. Brinell hardness was measured. Friction and wear tests were performed under dry sliding friction conditions using the “bushing on plate” scheme. This evaluated the tribological properties of the composite material in its original cast state and after modifying treatment. Due to the matrix alloy structure refinement by 5–10 times, the surface layer’s hardness increases by 11% after treatment. The modified specimens have superior tribological properties to the initial ones. Wear rate reduces by 17.5%, the average friction coefficient reduces by 32%, and the root mean squared error of the friction coefficient, which measures friction process stability, reduces by 50% at a specific load of 2.5 MPa. Therefore, the electron beam treatment process is a useful method for producing high-quality and uniform wear-resistant aluminum matrix composite surface layers.

Keywords: composite material; aluminum; surface layer modification; microstructure refinement; tribological properties

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Mei, S.; Mikheev, R.; Bykov, P.; Kalashnikov, I.; Kobeleva, L.; Sliva, A.; Terentyev, E. The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC. Lubricants 2026, 14, 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020050

AMA Style

Mei S, Mikheev R, Bykov P, Kalashnikov I, Kobeleva L, Sliva A, Terentyev E. The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC. Lubricants. 2026; 14(2):50. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020050

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mei, Shunqi, Roman Mikheev, Pavel Bykov, Igor Kalashnikov, Lubov Kobeleva, Andrey Sliva, and Egor Terentyev. 2026. "The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC" Lubricants 14, no. 2: 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020050

APA Style

Mei, S., Mikheev, R., Bykov, P., Kalashnikov, I., Kobeleva, L., Sliva, A., & Terentyev, E. (2026). The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC. Lubricants, 14(2), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020050

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

The Influence of Electron Beam Treatment on the Structure and Properties of the Surface Layer of the Composite Material AlMg3-5SiC

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI