Cast Stainless Steel Research Articles

Wetting behaviour of nickel-based brazing alloy BNi-5a on conventionally cast and laser-melted austenitic stainless steel 316L

Laser beam melting is an additive manufacturing process that enables the production of highly complex components. In this process, metal powder is locally melted using a laser beam and built up layer by layer to form a physical component. Due to the layer-by-layer process manufacturing technique of the additive manufacturing process, the microstructure of a laser-melted 316L austenitic stainless steel differs from that of a conventionally cast material. For brazing technology, the different microstructure morphology is important because it affects the known wetting and diffusion behavior with a brazing filler metal, which affects the ability to produce high-strength brazed joints. Brazeability can be determined by examining the wetting of the brazing filler metal with the material to be joined. Therefore, this study investigates the wetting behavior of nickel-base brazing alloy BNi-5a on conventionally cast and laser-melted 316L austenitic stainless steel. Wetting tests were performed to evaluate the spreading area and wetting angle of BNi-5a on both 316L substrates. The wetting tests were performed in a high-temperature vacuum furnace at 1190 °C for 15 min. The results show that the laser-melted 316L stainless steel exhibits enhanced wettability compared to the conventionally cast material. This is related to a higher surface energy and a more pronounced diffusion mechanism called grain boundary grooving on the surface of the material.

Hardfacing of GX40CrNiSi25-20 cast stainless steel with an austenitic manganese steel electrode

Abstract To enhance the wear and corrosion resistance of engineering components, various surface modification techniques have been devised. Among these, arc welding processes employing specialized electrodes offer relatively straightforward methods with low production costs for hardfacing applications. This paper focuses on the hardfacing process using pulsed current arc welding to reinforce cast austenitic steel structural components, aiming to prolong their lifespan. Typically, hardfacing coatings utilize Fe, Ni, and Co-based alloys. Among these, Fe-based alloys, such as manganese austenitic alloys employed in our experiments, are favored for their robust mechanical work hardening capacity, resulting in significant hardness enhancements (from 186–219 HV5 in the as-deposited layer to 468–492 HV5 after mechanical work hardening) under intense wear and impact conditions. The innovation of the hardfacing process developed in this study lies in utilizing a universal TIG source adapted for manual welding with a covered electrode in pulsed current mode. This hardfacing technique can be applied to both worn components in operation and new ones before being put into service, thereby ensuring long-term durability and reducing maintenance costs.

FeNi as raw material for stainless steel 316 and its mechanical properties

The manufacture of cast stainless steel 316 (SS 316) requires one essential raw material element, pure nickel. The demand for pure nickel is quite high, its price is the highest among other raw materials and it is still being imported. This study aims to utilise local ferronickel (FeNi) as a raw material for stainless steel and determine the effect of the percentage of FeNi usage on the mechanical properties of austenitic SS 316, which is a metal biomaterial widely used as a bone implant. This material is a potential replacement for nickel for stainless steel production. In this study, local FeNi at percentages of 0%, 23%, 45%, or 70% was added to other casting raw materials. The foundry process was carried out, and the samples were subjected to composition, tensile, hardness, and toughness tests. Results showed that all the samples had a chemical composition that met the SS 316 standard, indicating that the FeNi raw material can be used as raw material for SS 316, although impurities were still found at each percentage addition of FeNi. The tensile strength and hardness were still below the SS 316 standard but ductility was higher than the SS 316 standard at all percentages of FeNi.

Ultrasonic Cavitation Erosion Behavior of GX40CrNiSi25-20 Cast Stainless Steel through Yb-YAG Surface Remelting.

Laser beam remelting is a relatively simple and highly effective technique for the physical modification of surfaces to improve resistance to cavitation erosion. In this study, we investigated the effect of laser remelting on the surface of cast stainless steel with 0.40% C, 25% Cr, 20% Ni, and 1.5% Si on cavitation erosion behavior in tap water. The investigation was conducted using a piezoceramic crystal vibrator apparatus. Base laser beam parameters were carefully selected to result in a defect-free surface (no porosity, material burn, cracks) with hardness capable of generating better resistance to cavitation erosion. The experimental results were compared with those of the reference material. Surface morphology and microstructure evolution after cavitation tests were analyzed using an optical metallographic microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and hardness tests to explore the mechanism of improving surface degradation resistance. The conducted research demonstrated that surfaces modified by laser remelting exhibit a 4.8-5.1 times greater increase in cavitation erosion resistance due to the homogenization of chemical composition and refinement of the microstructure, while maintaining the properties of the base material.

Finite Element Analysis and Weight Optimization of Knuckle joint for different Materials by using CAE Tools

The current study involved the analysis of a knuckle joint using finite elements. A mechanical joint with two intersecting cylindrical rods whose axes are in the same plane is called a knuckle joint. Knuckle joint should be designed and manufactured in such a way that it can sustain more load without failure. The objective of the present study is to study knuckle joints made of different materials like aluminum, stainless steel, structural steel, magnesium, and gray cast iron using CAE tools. The CAD model of knuckle joint is made in CATIA V5 R20. The finite element analysis of this CAD model using ANSYS 15 has been carried out to investigate maximum stress and deformation. The CAE results compared with the analytical results using conventional approach. The CAE results have been found close to the analytical results, thus validating the model. The knuckle joint of aluminum is found to have highest factor of safety (1.641) at 50 KN load and is the most the most suitable material for knuckle joint. Weight of vehicle plays an important role in overall performance and fuel efficiency of vehicle. Knuckle joint is a part of vehicle. Hence weight optimization of knuckle joint made of aluminum has been performed using ANSYS 15 and it is observed that weight of knuckle joint made of aluminum can be reduced by 5.08% for 50 KN loading condition. Key Words: Knuckle joint, Finite element analysis, Mechanical joint, Load-bearing capacity, Material selection, CAE tools, Deformation analysis etc.

Finite Element Analysis and weight Optimization of Knuckle joint for different materials by using CAE Tools

The current study involved the analysis of a knuckle joint using finite elements. A mechanical joint with two intersecting cylindrical rods whose axes are in the same plane is called a knuckle joint. Knuckle joint should be designed and manufactured in such a way that it can sustain more load without failure. The objective of the present study is to study knuckle joints made of different materials like aluminum, stainless steel, structural steel, magnesium, and gray cast iron using CAE tools. The CAD model of knuckle joint is made in CATIA V5 R20. The finite element analysis of this CAD model using ANSYS 15 has been carried out to investigate maximum stress and deformation. The CAE results compared with the analytical results using conventional approach. The CAE results have been found close to the analytical results, thus validating the model. The knuckle joint of aluminum is found to have highest factor of safety (1.641) at 50 KN load and is the most the most suitable material for knuckle joint. Weight of vehicle plays an important role in overall performance and fuel efficiency of vehicle. Knuckle joint is a part of vehicle. Hence weight optimization of knuckle joint made of aluminum has been performed using ANSYS 15 and it is observed that weight of knuckle joint made of aluminum can be reduced by 5.08% for 50 KN loading condition. Key Words: Knuckle joint, Finite element analysis, Mechanical joint, Load-bearing capacity, Material selection, CAE tools, Deformation analysis etc.

Ultrasonic wave propagation analyses in centrifugally cast stainless steel using solidification grain structure models

Several components of nuclear power plants are made from cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS) because of its high corrosion resistance and strength. CASS that is centrifugally fabricated in a rotating mold is used in primary coolant piping. In-service inspection based on ultrasonic testing (UT) has to be conducted for primary coolant piping in accordance with fitness-for-service codes. However, a high-accuracy evaluation of flaws in CASS components through UT is difficult because the ultrasonic waves are scattered and attenuated by the coarse grains, and the ultrasonic beam is distorted by the anisotropy resulting from the grain orientations. Some works have attempted to improve UT capability for CASS components. For more improvement, it is essential to understand how ultrasonic waves propagate in the solidification structure of CASS. Numerical simulations are a useful and reasonable way for this purpose. The simulation model should account for a three-dimensional grain structure. In this study, we prepared three different models of solidification structures for centrifugally CASS, and we fed these structures into an explicit finite element model to simulate the propagation of ultrasonic waves. Afterward, we compared the simulated wave propagations with those measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer to determine an appropriate model that showed good agreement between the simulated and experimental results.

Finishing of additively manufactured stainless steel features by the eco-friendly electrolyte: Plasma and surface interaction science

Many industries, including the chemical, food, medical, and aerospace sectors, use complex-shaped components fabricated by additive manufacturing. The usage of additively manufactured components in end-user applications is challenging due to their higher surface roughness. Finishing processes are necessary to reduce the surface roughness. Electrolytic hot plasma polishing is a newly developed finishing process. For this process, an eco-friendly electrolytic solution is prepared and used to finish any shape of the component that is to be conductive. Salts and distilled water are used while preparing the eco-friendly electrolytic solution, which is used to finish stainless steel. Initially, the prepared solution was used to finish cast stainless steel components, and subsequently, it was employed for finishing additively manufactured stainless steel components. Voltage–current characteristics of the cast and additively manufactured components resulted in a similar pattern. As a result, the range of the input process parameters for cast components was chosen for the input of central composite rotatable design to finish the additively manufactured stainless steel components. The surface roughness of additively manufactured stainless steel features was reduced to 95.6 % of the original surface roughness of 12.45 μm. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine surface morphology and material removal mechanisms.

سباكة الصلب عالي السبائكية AISI321 باستخدام السباكة الرملية

In this work, sand casting was used to obtain high-strength steel AISI-321 by melting alloy AISI304 using sand casting. This is in addition to titanium using an induction furnace, which is considered one of the metal forming processes that originated from the principle of casting in sand molds. In general, Ti will oxidize quickly in the melt if it is exposed to air in typical sand/investment casting processes; Titanium element provides greater resistance to inter granular corrosion. Stainless steel alloy 321, which differs from 304 in that it contains a percentage of titanium, which has given it the property of being used at high temperatures, which has increased the need or demand for stainless steel casting in some industries and due to the difficulty and complexity of producing some pieces or parts using SS304 (wrought) forging alloy by Machines, so that it became necessary to search for a way to improve quality and reduce time and cost, using plumbing technology, although information about this technology is not available in open references. The ability to cast stainless steel is affected by a variety of factors, such as the time and degree of melting, the types of additives, and the time of total solidification. In addition, there are some other casting factors that have a direct impact on the quality of casting stainless steel, such as the sand mold materials, their type, preparation of the sand mold, and the heat treatment steps. This research includes two parts, a theoretical part that includes the steps of sand casting, and the second part related to the practical side, where the effect of some casting factors was studied, which includes the weight and quantity of addition of titanium (300 to 1000 grams), the time of addition and pouring from (3 to 15 minutes), as well as a study of heat treatment and its effect. This is due to the quality of the stainless steel alloy under study. In each experiment, 100 kilograms were used on stainless steel 321 and 304. The practical experiments were completed in several experimental stages, and in each stage, some modifications were made so that they were based on previous results. The results of the chemical analysis of the last five samples showed a gradual increase in the amount of Ti% until it reached about 0.4%. The tensile strength and yield strength were at acceptable values compared to the Wrought SS321 and cast SS (CF) alloys, an austenitic stainless steel, where the lowest value was (200 and 198) MPa and the highest value was (559 and 315) MPa, respectively. The hardness values were between (145 to 149). Key words: sandcasting, Austenitic SS321, SS304, FeTi.

Ultra-high strength metal matrix composites (MMCs) with extended ductility manufactured by size-controlled powder and spherical cast tungsten carbide

The main challenge of particle reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) is balancing strength and ductility. This research uses type 420 stainless steel and spherical cast tungsten carbide (WC/W2C) with a similar powder size and range as raw powders to manufacture laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 420 + 5 wt% WC/W2C MMCs. LPBF 420 + 5 wt% WC/W2C MMCs contain austenite, martensite, and W-rich carbides (WC/W2C, FeW3C, M6C, and M7C3) from nanometre to micrometre scale. The well-balanced composition creates a crack-free reaction layer between the reinforced particles and matrix. This reaction layer consists of two distinct layers, depending on the element concentration. The LPBF 420 + 5 wt% WC/W2C MMCs achieved an excellent compressive strength of ∼5.5 GPa and a considerable fracture strain exceeding 50 %. The underlying mechanisms for the improved mechanical properties are discussed, providing further insight to advance the application of MMCs via additive manufacturing.

Numerical investigation of the thermal and acoustic effect of material variations on the exhaust muffler

Exhaust mufflers are used in automobiles to prevent the noise arising from exhaust gases resulting from internal combustion engines. With the advancement of the automotive industry, exhaust mufflers have become more complex over time to reduce noise and increase driving comfort. Within the scope of this study, exhaust muffler geometries with different geometries have been designed, and harmonic acoustic analyses have been carried out. In the analysis, the airflow speed has been accepted as 30 m/s. Acoustic pressure and transmission loss data obtained because of analyses performed with 1Pa pressure input have been evaluated. As a result of the evaluations, it has been concluded that the muffler modeled in a complex structure has been better acoustically. Although the main task of exhaust muffler is to reduce the sound level at the exit of exhaust gases, it is also important to reduce the temperature of the air in the exhaust system and have good thermal conductivity so as not to jeopardize the thermal safety of the system. For this reason, CFD thermal flow analysis has been carried out with 4 different materials using a complex design with high acoustic efficiency. Gray cast iron, stainless steel, 1020 steel, and aluminum have been used as materials. In this part of the study, it has been determined that the use of aluminum material has been better in terms of thermal efficiency.

Introducing Auxetic Behavior to Syntactic Foams

This paper proposes an innovative multi-material approach for introducing auxetic behaviour to syntactic foams (SFs). By carefully designing the size, shape, and orientation of the SFs, auxetic deformation behaviour was induced. Re-entrant hexagon-shaped SF elements were fabricated using expanded perlite (EP) particles and a plaster of Paris slurry first. Then, an auxetic pattern of these SF elements was arranged within a stainless-steel casting box. The empty spaces between the SF elements were filled with molten aluminium alloy (A356) using the counter-gravity infiltration casting technique. The cast auxetic composite had a bulk density of 1.52 g/cm3. The cast composite was then compressed under quasi-static loading to characterise its deformation behaviour and to determine the mechanical properties, especially the Poisson’s ratio. The cast composite deformation was auxetic with a Poisson’s ratio of −1.04. Finite Element (FE) simulations were conducted to understand the deformation mechanism better and provide means for further optimisation of the geometry.

The Effect of Homogenization Heat Treatment on 316L Stainless Steel Cast Billet.

This investigation aims to analyze the effect of homogenization heat treatment at 1240 °C for 2 and 6 h on the hardness, distribution, morphology, and chemical composition of the δ-ferrite and sigma phases in 316L stainless steel cast billet. A field emission scanning electron microscope, combined with electron back-scattered diffraction, a field emission electron probe microanalyzer with a wavelength dispersive spectrometer, and a Vickers microhardness tester are applied to identify various phase evolutions in the cast billet. The morphology of the δ-ferrite and sigma phases in the austenite matrix of the 316L cast billet are strongly related to the subsequent hot and cold wire drawings. The homogenization heat treatment is expected to provide a driving force to form spheroid interdendritic δ-ferrite and to minimize the amount of the brittle sigma intermetallic compound in the austenite matrix. The homogenization heat treatment at 1240 °C effectively spheroidized all δ-ferrites into blunt ones in the cast billet. The transformation of δ-ferrite into sigma is dominated by temperature and cooling rate. The fast air cooling after homogenization between 1240 and 850 °C retards the precipitation of the sigma in the δ-ferrite. There are two δ-ferrite transformation mechanisms in this experiment. The direct transformation of the δ-ferrite into sigma is observed in the as-cast 316L stainless steel billet. In contrast, the eutectoid transformation of the δ-ferrite into the sigma and austenite dominates the 316L cast billet homogenized at 1240 °C, with a slow furnace cooling rate.

Impact of Cookware Types on Leaking Heavy Metals into Food based on pH Values, and their Potential Impact on the Health Status of a Saudi Sample using a Survey Study Design

This study aimed to measure the leaked metal concentrations in cooked food using three types of cookware (stainless steel (18/10), cast iron, and aluminum). Two types of vegetables were used based on their pH values, tomatoes (pH 4.30-4.90) and zucchini (pH 9), as acidic and basic food materials. In addition, a survey study was performed on a randomly chosen Saudi sample to investigate the impact of their income, age, and awareness level in choosing between the different cookware available in the market, as well as to investigate the impact of the used cookware on their health status. The results showed that cooking acidic food (e.g., tomatoes) in aluminum pots can lead to an increase in the concentrations of leaked metals into the food such as leaking copper (0.27mg/kg), iron (3.048mg/kg), aluminum (0.91mg/kg) and magnesium (95.13 mg/kg) but no change in the concentrations of leaked metals into the food such as Chromium and Nickle (<0.4mg/kg). Results revealed that the only cookware that had the least leaked metals into the acidic food was cast iron. For the basic food (e.g., zucchini), results showed that zucchini turned into an acidic medium after cooking which increased the leaking of different metals into the cooked zucchini. The only cookware that had the least leaked metals into the zucchini was the stainless steel (18/10). The leaked metals into the food may affect the health; the results of this study’s survey showed a potential correlation between using cast iron and stainless steel with the incidence of diabetes, arthritis, and heart diseases. Results also showed that some individuals are aware of choosing between the different cookware available in the market based on the health impact. However, their income affected their choices significantly regardless of their awareness. In conclusion, it can be recommended based on the results of this study that cast iron is more preferable to be used for cooking acidic food, whereas aluminum is not preferable for cooking basic foods.

Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Effect of Material Variations on the Brake Disc

Braking is one of the most critical systems for ensuring the safe driving performance of motor vehicles. Among the components that constitute the braking system, the disc is the one with the highest risk of wear. When the braking system is engaged, the physical contact between the brake pad and the disc leads to the generation of high pressure and high temperature. This released heat shortens the material's lifespan. The wearing or fracturing of the brake disc can result in a significant safety vulnerability. Therefore, it is desired for the discs to have better heat dissipation to increase their longevity. In this study, two different designs of brake discs were first examined thermally using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. Subsequently, numerical analyses were conducted under the same boundary conditions by selecting the disc geometry with superior heat dissipation performance and using different materials. The results obtained from the analyses were compared and interpreted. The materials utilized in the study were grey cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel, and carbon-carbon composite. As a result, it was observed that the carbon-carbon composite exhibited higher resistance to elevated temperatures.

Experimental characteristics of 316L stainless steel thin wall processed in wire-based arc additive manufacturing process

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is an innovative technology for the fabrication of larger metal parts with complex geometry. It has a higher deposition rate, low wastage, production efficiency, and close tolerance. In this work, 316L stainless steel parts were manufactured by cold metal transfer-based WAAM process, and the effects of microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Microstructure studies reveal the formation of columnar and equiaxed grain morphologies with the development of epitaxial growth along the building direction. The radiographic test confirms various defects such as pores and cracks associated with the 316L deposited part. However, the microhardness studies show a uniform distribution of hardness values. The average value of microhardness of the as-deposited part was 220 HV. Tensile studies show the horizontal samples were ultimate tensile stress (UTS): 576 MPa, yield stress (YS): 302 MPa, and elongation (EL): 35% in comparison with the vertical samples were UTS: 469 MPa, YS: 295 MPa and EL: 39% and the sample exhibits the anisotropy properties. Further, the fracture surface of the tensile sample exhibits a ductile fracture with enough dimples, voids, and plastic deformation. The result shows that fabricated WAAM stainless steel 316L parts exhibit the finer microstructure and improved mechanical properties, which is extremely better than 316L stainless steel casting, forging, and wrought counterparts.

Evolution of primary carbides during accelerated solidification process of high-carbon martensitic stainless steels

In order to evaluate the potential application advantage for development of sub-rapid cooling strip casting of high-carbon martensitic stainless steels, the effects of cooling rate on the solidification microstructure, solute element segregation, and primary carbide precipitation in high-carbon martensitic stainless steels were investigated using an association of high-temperature confocal laser scanning microscopy (HT-CLSM), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electro-probe microanalysis (EPMA). As a result, the microstructure becomes more refined and the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) decreases greatly by 51 μm from 65.9 μm as the increase of cooling rate from 30 to 6000 °C·min−1. The equation of SDAS versus cooling rate was formulated as λ2 = 191.62·RC−0.317. Solute elements are enriched in the inter-dendritic region, leading to the precipitation of primary carbides. The elemental segregation ratio reduces by more than 20 % for all elements, meanwhile, the size of primary carbides decreases significantly and the mean area fraction of the primary carbides decreases from 4.77 % to 0.82 % with increase of cooling rate from 30 to 6000 °C·min−1. Moreover, the reticulated carbides gradually become less continuous. Despite the type of carbide is not sensitive to the cooling rate, the content of Cr and Fe in the primary carbide is sensitive to cooling rate. Compared to the reported methods, sub-rapid cooling of strip casting shows great advantage in control of primary carbides of high-carbon martensitic stainless steels.

Microstructural evolution of cast super austenitic stainless steel during hot compression

In the present paper, the effect of strain on the microstructure evolution of 7Mo-0.42N contained cast super austenitic stainless steel (SASS) during compression deformation at 1200 °C was systematically studied to optimize the hot working process. The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) grains size, recrystallization mechanism, annealing twin characteristics, and dislocation evolution during high-temperature deformation at varied strains were examined. Results show that the recrystallization behavior of the SASS during high-temperature compression can be divided into three stages. In stage I, the parent grain boundaries were gradually replaced by recrystallized grains, and observed both cyclic grain refinement and coarsening of grains. In stage II, the recrystallized grains elongated into the parent grain interior from the boundaries until the parent grain was completely covered. Meanwhile, the DRX and abnormal grain growth occurred simultaneously and developed rapidly at this stage. At stage III, the recrystallized grains abnormally grew to ∼76 μm and was deformed again because of the increased strain. The nucleation mechanism also changed during deformation. The discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) dominated at stage I and II (ε = 0.1–0.6) with relatively low deformation strain. While in the high strain range of stage III (ε = 0.7–1.0), the continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) took over. These quantitative statistics and analyses of data were carried out in terms of recrystallization grain size and nucleation mechanism under different strain variables, providing experimental basis and theoretical guidance for the production of SASS.

Comparison of grain structure models for wave propagation analysis in centrifugally cast stainless steel

Centrifugally cast stainless steel (CASS) is widely used in primary coolant piping of pressurized water reactor plants because of its high corrosion resistance and high strength. An in-service inspection based on ultrasonic testing (UT) has to be conducted for weld joints of primary coolant piping on the basis of JSME Rules on Fitness-forService for Nuclear Power Plants. However, it is difficult to detect and size flaws in CASS components with high accuracy because of the following reasons: Ultrasonic waves are scattered and attenuated due to coarse grains, and anisotropic and heterogeneous properties in CASS lead to ultrasonic beam skewing. Numerical simulations are useful and reasonable ways for better understanding the ultrasonic wave propagation behavior in CASS. To effectively achieve this, the simulation model should include a three-dimensional (3D) grain structure. In this study, we modeled three kinds of the solidification grain structures of centrifugally CASS. One is obtained by using a cellular automaton method, another consists of many hexagonal columns with the same dimensions, and the other is transversely isotropic material. Then these structures were fed into an explicit finite element model for simulating wave propagation and the simulated results were compared with those measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer. Through the comparison, we investigated the applicability of these three kinds of solidification grain structure models to simulation for wave propagation.

Enhanced cavitation erosion resistance of GX40CrNiSi25-20 cast stainless steels by surface TIG re-melting

This study aimed to reduce cavitation erosion effects by improving the surface properties of high-alloyed steel cast parts using the tungsten inert gas (TIG) surface physical modification technique. Local surface melting was performed at different linear energies (El = 4080–8880 J/cm) by varying the current between 100 and 200 A at a constant voltage of 10.2–11.1 V. Hardness increased from 210 to 390 HV5 when a TIG current of 150 A with a linear energy of El = 6630 J/cm was implemented.Using this technique, a surface layer with increased resistance to cavitation erosion was formed. This new surface absorbed large amounts of impact energy owing to a favourable combination of microstructural changes, leading to improved elastic and plastic properties, work hardening, cracking, and failure response. The cavitation erosion performance of the re-melted surface layer was analysed using a piezoceramic vibrating device according to the ASTM G32–2016 standard. Following TIG surface re-melting, the average penetration depth of erosion and the cavitation erosion rate increased by approxmately 6.8 times. Based on optical and electronic metallographic analyses, hardness measurements, and X-ray diffraction, it was shown that the morphology of the surface layer following cavitation erosion tests was affected. Microcraters tended to develop at locations where carbide particles from the alloying elements were previously present. At a current of 150 A, the depth of the microcraters reached values of approximately 15 μm; however, microcrater depth reached 10 μm in the austenite matrix. Based on these investigations, an understanding of the mechanisms that result in the improvement of the resistance to erosion by cavitation of cast high-alloy steels whose surfaces were re-melted using the TIG technique is developed.