OBRABOTKAMETALLOV Vol. 28 No. 2 2026 277 MATERIAL SCIENCE Electric arc surfacing using fl ux-cored wire with titanium carbide fi lling Gennady Pribytkov 1, a, *, Irina Firsina 1, b, Alexey Mikhno 2, c 1 Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science of Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, 2/4, Prospekt Akademicheskii, Tomsk, 634055, Russian Federation 2 Siberian State Industrial University, 42, Kirova St., Novokuznetsk, 654007, Russian Federation a https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8267-971X, gapribyt@mail.ru; b https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2253-0582, iris1983@yandex.ru; c https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7305-6692, mikno-mm131@mail.ru Obrabotka metallov - Metal Working and Material Science Journal homepage: http://journals.nstu.ru/obrabotka_metallov Obrabotka metallov (tekhnologiya, oborudovanie, instrumenty) = Metal Working and Material Science. 2026 vol. 28 no. 2 pp. 264–279 ISSN: 1994-6309 (print) / 2541-819X (online) DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2026-28.2-264-279 ART I CLE I NFO Article history: Received: 04 February 2026 Revised: 16 March 2026 Accepted: 21 March 2026 Available online: 15 June 2026 Keywords: Synthesis in powder mixtures TiC Fe-based matrix composite Flux-cored wire Electric arc surfacing Structure Phase composition Wear resistance Hardness Funding The work was performed according to the Government Research Assignment for the ISPMS SB RAS (Project FWRW-2026-0009). Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank V.P. Krivopalov for his help in the powder synthesis, A.V. Baranovsky for his help in X-ray diff raction studies, and K.O. Akimov for his help in SEM studies. ABSTRACT Introduction. To extend the service life of components exposed to abrasive particles during operation, wearresistant coatings are applied to their working surfaces using powder spraying or various surfacing methods. One of the simplest and most accessible surfacing techniques is arc surfacing in air. To improve the productivity of this process, fl ux-cored wire is used instead of stick electrodes. Subject. This paper describes the technology for producing a composite powder for fl ux-cored wire manufacturing, and presents the equipment used for wire fabrication and arc coating surfacing. The purpose of the work is to investigate a composite powder synthesized from a mechanically activated mixture of ferrotitanium (FeTi35Si5) and carbon black (soot), as well as the wear-resistant coatings deposited by arc surfacing onto a steel 0.09 C–Mn–2 Si substrate using a low-carbon steel 0.08 C–Al wire with a composite powder core. Methods. The powder and the arc-surfaced coatings were characterized by optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for elemental composition analysis, and X-ray diff raction (XRD). The surfaced coatings were tested for abrasive wear according to GOST 23.208–79, and the microhardness of both the powder and the coatings was measured. The composite powder used as the core fi lling in the fl ux-cored wire was obtained by crushing sintered cakes — the products of reaction synthesis in a mechanically activated powder mixture of ferrotitanium (FeTi35Si5) and carbon black, processed in an Activator-2S ball mill. Specialized equipment was used for fl ux-cored wire fabrication and for electric arc surfacing. Results and Discussion. According to XRD analysis, the powder synthesized from the mechanically activated ferrotitanium–carbon black mixture contains two phases: titanium carbide (TiC) and α-iron (ferrite). Metallographic examination revealed that the synthesized powder exhibits a structure characteristic of an iron-matrix composite reinforced with nanosized carbide particles. The coating surfaced using the fl ux-cored wire has the same phase composition, but with a reduced titanium carbide content. The coating features a martensite-like microstructure, exhibits 4.5 times higher hardness and 2.5 times higher abrasive wear resistance compared to a coating surfaced with a solid 0.08 C–Al steel wire (without powder fi lling). Conclusions. Electric arc coatings surfaced with fl ux-cored wire fi lled with an iron-matrix composite powder exhibit high hardness (6,629 ± 498 MPa) and abrasive wear resistance (158 ± 11 mg/h) due to the martensitic structure of the surfaced layer, which is additionally reinforced by micron-sized titanium carbide particles. During surfacing, the submicron titanium carbide particles present in the composite powder structure undergo complete dissolution, enriching the weld pool with carbon and promoting martensitic transformation upon cooling. For citation: Pribytkov G.A., Firsina I.A., Mikhno A.R. Electric arc surfacing using fl ux-cored wire with titanium carbide fi lling. Obrabotka metallov (tekhnologiya, oborudovanie, instrumenty) = Metal Working and Material Science, 2026, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 264–279. DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2026-28.2-264-279. (In Russian). ______ * Corresponding author Pribytkov Gennady A., D.Sc. (Engineering), Chief Researcher, Associate Professor Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science SB RAS, 2/4 Prospect Akademicheskii, 634055, Tomsk, Russian Federation Tel: +7 913 860-04-49, e-mail: gapribyt@mail.ru
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