Structural investigation of the Plasma Transferred Arc hardfaced glass mold after operation

The paper presents the results of research aimed at detecting the causes of premature wear of molds for glass shaping, manifesting the formation of pits in the Plasma Transferred Arc pad-welds in which the working surface of the mold was shaped. The weld microstructure was tested, the chemical composition was determined in the pad-weld’s cross-section, linear and surface chemical distributions were made in the pad-weld’s cross-section, the surface morphology in damaged areas, and the chemical composition of surface inclusions were examined. The too high temperature of formed glass associated with wettability of the glass of the mold was indicated as the primary cause of premature mold wear.