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[References: 4 tit.]

A comparative analysis is performed for experimental data on the nature of the structural-phase states formed in the surface layer of a hard alloy with a high content (90%) of the ceramic component under pulsed electron-beam irradiation in the plasmas of inert gases with different values of ionization energy and atomic mass, as well as on the influence of formed structural phase states on the resistance of the hard alloy surface layer in metal cutting. It is shown that the efficiency of pulsed electron-ion-plasma irradiation as a method for the nanostructurization of a ceramic component in the surface layers of hard alloys depends on the ionization energy and atomic mass values of the plasma-forming gas. Decreasing ionization energy and increasing atomic mass of the plasma-forming gas causes an acceleration of the dissolution of the ceramic component in the melt of a metal binder, and an accelerated dispersion of ceramic particles to a nanosized scale occurs. The nanostructurization of the ceramic component in the surface layer results in a 1.5-fold increase in the resistance of hard alloy plates in the course of metal cutting. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.