Metallurgy plays an important role in the economy of the Republic of Belarus, providing jobs for more than 60,000 people and contributing to regional development. However, in order to maintain competitiveness, it is necessary to constantly improve production processes and implement new technologies. Specialists from the sectoral research laboratory of plasma and laser technologies (SRLPLT) at BNTU have developed an innovative hybrid technology for applying ultra-durable coatings to critical parts of the continuous casting equipment of the Belarussian Steel Works.
The essence of the development was explained by Professor of Mechanical Engineering Oleg Devoino:
-The technology is aimed at significantly increasing the service life of rapidly wearing parts of equipment used in metallurgical production. The obtained coatings have a record hardness of about 65 HRC. For comparison, this hardness is comparable to some tool steels and even exceeds the hardness of many common steels used in machine engineering. Such properties provide high resistance to abrasion and wear in the harsh conditions of the metallurgical shop.
The development of BNTU has already passed laboratory tests and has reached the stage of industrial trials. An experimental batch of rollers of two different sizes, critically important for the operation of BSW's stretching equipment, was produced using the new technology. These rollers have been transferred to the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant for installation in real production lines.
Currently, thorough testing of the prototypes is underway at BSW under real operating conditions. Based on the results of these tests, a decision will be made: if the technology proves its effectiveness and reliability, import-substituting production of such high-tech reinforced parts may be launched based on the production-experimental sites of the university. This not only ensures the supply of components to a strategically important enterprise for the country but also represents a real contribution of BNTU to technological development and strengthening of the industry.
