**1. Introduction**

Wearing of machine parts poses an important problem in terms of scientific, technical and economic potential. In most cases, the mechanisms of wear are highly complex and include many interrelated factors whose impact depends on the environment and working conditions of the part in question. The variety of the types of wear modes leads to the specialization of materials used in the construction of parts subject to abrasive wear in order to ensure the highest resistance to wearing of surface layers under specific operating conditions. One of the types of such specialized materials is Abrasion Resistant (AR) plates [1–7]. The structure and properties of the surface layer are, to a large extent, the main factor when considering materials for machine parts in terms of durability. In recent years, there has been dynamic research in the development of new abrasion-resistant materials containing layers of unique properties and structures differing significantly from previous work. In particular, new approaches such as improved hardness, resistance to impact loads and low coefficients of friction are the main concerns when developing new materials [8–19]. The rapid development of nano-structurally modified materials is foreshadowing an increase in their application in novel welding technologies. The wide variety of properties inherent to nano-structually modified materials are a paradigm shift, bringing new possibilities through the use of nanomaterial-based surfacing technologies. Nanomaterials are classified as single or multiphase polycrystals characterized

by a grain size on the order of 1 × <sup>10</sup>−<sup>9</sup> m to 250 × <sup>10</sup>−<sup>9</sup> m in diameter. At the upper limit of this range, the term "very fine" is used with respect to grain size on the order of 250–1000 nm in diameter [20–27]. Nanocrystalline materials are structurally characterized by a high volume fraction at the grain boundaries, which significantly changes their physical, chemical and mechanical properties in comparison to conventional coarse grains, whose grain size is usually on the order of 10–300 μm. Until now, existing nanomaterials used for nanostructure coatings and layers have shown a significantly higher (many times) wear resistance compared to traditional steel alloy-based materials. Due to the high cost and continuous development of their production technology, nanostructural materials have not been widely applied [28–33].
