OBRABOTKAMETALLOV Vol. 28 No. 3 2026 357 MATERIAL SCIENCE Structure and wear resistance of hot-rolled Fe–Cr–B coatings Alina Dudareva 1, a, *, Ekaterina Esikova 1. b, Sergey Stankevich 1, c, Vladislav Shikalov 1, d, Yulia Malyutina 1, 2, e, Maxim Khomyakov 3, f, Evgeny Domarov 4, g, Kemal Emurlaev 1, 5, h 1 Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 Prospekt K. Marksa, Novosibirsk, 630073, Russian Federation 2 Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, 15 Ac. Lavrentieva ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation 3 Institute of Laser Physics of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, 13 Ac. Lavrentieva ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation 4 Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, 11 Acad. Lavrentieva Pr., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation 5 Siberian Circular Photon Source “SKlF” Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SRF “SKIF”), 1 Nikol’skii pr., Kol’tsovo, 630559, Russian Federation a https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5649-7090, dudareva-alina@mail.ru; b https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2000-3695, kate.esikova@mail.ru; c https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0964-319X, stankevich.2016@corp.nstu.ru; d https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0491-2803, v.shikalov@gmail.com; e https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0305-7518, romashova@corp.nstu.ru; f https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8095-2092, mnkhomy@ya.ru; g https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2422-1513, domarov88@mail.ru; h https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1114-6799, emurlaev@corp.nstu.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. 3 pp. 345–359 ISSN: 1994-6309 (print) / 2541-819X (online) DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2026-28.3-345-359 ART I CLE I NFO Article history: Received: 05 June 2026 Revised: 23 June 2026 Accepted: 14 August 2026 Available online: 15 September 2026 Keywords: Chromium-nickel austenitic steel Electron beam cladding Hot plastic deformation Chromium Boron Funding This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 23-79-00066, https://rscf.ru/project/23-79-00066/. The synchrotron X-ray experiments were carried out at the shared research center SSTRC based at the VEPP-4 – VEPP-2000 complex at BINP SB RAS. This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the governmental assignment for SRF SKIF Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (project FWUR-2026-0002). Acknowledgements The structural research was carried out at the core facility “Structure, mechanical and physical properties of materials”, NSTU. Synchrotron X-ray research was conducted at the shared research center SSTRC on the basis of the VEPP-4–VEPP-2000 complex at BINP SB RAS. ABSTRACT Introduction. Austenitic steels are widely used in mining, railway, and chemical industries due to their high toughness and corrosion resistance. However, their service life under severe wear conditions is limited, which necessitates the development of eff ective surface hardening techniques that preserve the ductility of the substrate. The purpose of this study is to investigate the microstructure, mechanical properties, and tribological behavior of Fe–Cr–B-based coatings fabricated by non-vacuum electron beam cladding on AISI 321 steel followed by combined treatment (quenching and hot rolling). Materials and methods. Cladding was performed using two powder mixtures with diff erent boron contents: C1QHR (1 g B) and C2QHR (2 g B). After cladding, the samples were quenched from 1,100 °C and subsequently hot-rolled at 950 °C. The microstructure was examined using scanning electron microscopy, and the phase composition was determined byX-ray diff raction. Mechanical properties were evaluated bymicrohardness measurements, while tribological characteristics were assessed using a ball-on-fl at dry sliding wear test. Results and discussion. The combined treatment was found to promote the precipitation of submicron (Fe,Cr)23C6 carbides within the austenitic matrix and the formation of (Fe,Cr)2(C,B) carboborides. The coating with the higher boron content (C2QHR) exhibited a hardness of 484 ± 20 HV, which is 2.4 times higher than that of AISI 321 steel. The wear resistance of the C2QHR coating is 5.3 times higher than that of the AISI 321 steel substrate. The main mechanisms enhancing the wear resistance of the coatings are precipitation hardening due to carbide precipitation, as well as the formation of borides and carboborides. Conclusions. The combination of quenching and hot rolling of the layers obtained by non-vacuum electron beam cladding forms a wear-resistant protective layer on the surface of AISI 321 steel. For citation: DudarevaA.A., Esikova E.D., Stankevich S.V., Shikalov V.S., Malyutina Yu.N., Khomyakov M.N., Domarov E.V., Emurlaev K.I. Structure and wear resistance of hot-rolled Fe–Cr–B coatings. Obrabotka metallov (tekhnologiya, oborudovanie, instrumenty) = Metal Working and Material Science, 2026, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 345–359. DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2026-28.3-345-359. (In Russian). ______ * Corresponding author Dudareva Alina A., Post-graduate Student Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 Prospekt K. Marksa, 630073, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation Tel.: +7 913 707-63-44, e-mail: dudareva-alina@mail.ru
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