Scientific basis has been developed and a strengthening method proposed for components intended for operation under extreme mechanical and thermal loading. The method is based on the formation on the surface of a hardening layer from the materials with high interatomic bonding forces caused by the excitation of the electron system of the material under the effect of the working load.

The development is based on the formation on the surface of a strengthening layer of cerium heavy-fermion compounds with elements selected from the IIIA-IVA groups of the Periodic Table, with covalence in the chemical bonding of atoms of 0.3 to 0.7, or transition metals with a filled or nearly filled d-electron shell. The sharp increase of the interatomic bonding forces in these materials is caused by the excitation of their electronic subsystem under workload. For workpieces exposed to cyclic and/or pulse loads, the relaxation time of the electronic system should not exceed the time between loads. Fatigue tests of prototype aircraft engine compressor blades coated with CeCu2Si2 compound showed a more than tenfold increase in their lifetime by more than a factor of 10. The development can be used in aircraft construction (aircraft engines), machinery, machine tools, and in manufacturing articles of high-strength performance.