Instruments and Systems: Monitoring, Control, and Diagnostics Annotation << Back Investigation of the Process of Plasma hardening of Tires of Wheels M.V. KOPANEV, V.A. ALEKSEENKO, M.P. DUNAEV, M.A. GLADYSHEV Over the past years, the Russian railways have seen an increase in the wear of tires of traction rolling stock. The main wear part of the tire is the ridge, which, in contact with the rail, is subject to sliding friction with high dynamic loads when the locomotive bogie oscillates in the railway track. The problem of flange wear is of greater importance in highspeed and heavyhaul trains. Also, an increase in the resistance to destruction and wear resistance of the wheelset is of particular importance due to the increase in the requirements for their reliability and durability. In order to increase the hardness of the ridge and reduce its wear, plasma hardening is used, which, if used correctly, significantly increases the resource of the bandage and reduces the economic costs of repair. Plasma surface hardening is a fairly effective and productive method of hardening. The heating of the hardened section of the wheel pair shroud is carried out by a high enthalpy plasma jet, creeping along the heated surface with an opposite relative movement of the part. The hardened section is cooled immediately upon exiting the plasma, mainly due to heat removal to the body of a massive wheelset and heat removal from the surface to the atmosphere wheel pairs, the dependence of the formation of an electric arc is determined, the analysis of the results obtained is carried out. Keywords: plasma torch, technological process, plasma formation, current-voltage characteristic, current, defl ecting system, arc. DOI: 10.25791/pribor.10.2023.1449 Pp. 51-59.