Electric-spark coatings on a steel base and contact surface for optimizing the working characteristics of babbitt friction bearings

Abstract

It is found that the use of transition layers of copper, coated by the electric-spark method in a protective argon atmosphere, improves the heat removal from the contact area and increases the steel bases’ adhesion strength with an antifriction babbitt layer as compared with the traditional technology by 35%. Electric-spark alloying babbitt B83 by indium and stannum allowed us to form running-in coatings without hard inclusions with a thickness of 130 and 100 microns, respectively. New technological solutions allow decreasing the temperature in the friction zone, increasing the thickness of the oil layer, and, as a result, creating a bearing with a better load carrying capability and reliability.