A high-current pulsed electron beam(HCPEB) generated on the system of Nadezhda-2 was applied to improve the microstructure and performance of 0.20% C low carbon steel. Surface layers of the samples bombarded by explosive electron beam at different pulses was observed by using electron microscopy. The physical model of the thermal-stress process and related modification mechanism as a result of HCPEB irradiation was also investigated. After HCPEB post treatments, obvious changes in microstructure and significant hardening occur in the depth of 200-250 μm from the surface after HCPEB irradiation. Rapid heating and subsequent rapid solidification induce heavy plastic deformation, which results in that the laminated structure of pearlite is substituted by dispersive rounded-like cementites in the near-surface. The effect of HCPEB treatment can reach more than 500 m depth from the surface. The original crystalline structure is changed to a different degree that grows with the numbers of bombardment, and in the surface layer amorphous states and nanocrystaline structures consisting of grains of γ-phase and cementite are found. The violent stress induced by HCPEB irradiation is the origin of the nanostructured and amorphous structure formation.
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