{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T15:33:30Z","timestamp":1787067210966,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,24]],"date-time":"2026-05-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779580800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the effects of atmospheric plasma treatment (APT) on the surface morphology, microhardness, chemical composition, and tribological performance of alloy steel used in railway applications. A novel mathematical model is proposed to describe the dependence of the maximum surface asperity height on the APT parameters and material properties. Experimental validation was performed using a series of alloy steel specimens treated under controlled APT conditions. The surfaces were characterized by roughness measurements, microhardness testing, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Tribological properties were evaluated under dry sliding conditions using ball-on-disk tests with steel counterbodies (grades 1.3529 and 1.3505). Tribological testing showed that APT leads to a 6\u20137% reduction in the steady-state friction coefficient, eliminates the long running-in stage, and improves stability by lowering the coefficient of variation by up to 43%. Overall, this study demonstrates that APT provides a dual benefit: improving tribological performance through surface smoothing and stabilization of the friction regime, and preserving the mechanical and chemical integrity of the material.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19112208","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T01:45:08Z","timestamp":1779673508000},"page":"2208","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Study of Tribological Characteristics on the Surface of Railway Transport Components Using Atmospheric Plasma"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6516-2794","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Denys","family":"Baranovskyi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, Rzeszow University of Technology, Aleja Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Warszawy 12, 35-329 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4264-2303","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maryna","family":"Bulakh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, Rzeszow University of Technology, Aleja Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Warszawy 12, 35-329 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7383-9304","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergey","family":"Myamlin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Wagon Engineering and Product Quality, Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport, Feuerbakh Sq. 7, 61050 Kharkiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nikolay","family":"Sergienko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Education and Science in Mechanical Engineering and Transport, National Technical University \u201cKharkiv Polytechnic Institute\u201d, Kyrpychova St. 2, 61002 Kharkiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9204-4435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergey S.","family":"Myamlin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Wagon Engineering and Product Quality, Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport, Feuerbakh Sq. 7, 61050 Kharkiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Panchenko, S., Gerlici, J., Lovska, A., Ravlyuk, V., Di\u017eo, J., and Blatnick\u00fd, M. 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