Ultra wear resistant TiC-Fe coating prepared by high efficient and economic plasma cladding method

The key components of engineering machinery frequently failed due to working in the high load and high wear operating envir-onment.And the performance of the Fe-based alloy coatings typically employed need to be improved for fulfilling the service requirements.Herein,a TiC strengthened Fe-based alloy cladding layer,named TiC-Fe coating,was designed and prepared by plasma cladding technology.The frictional wear performance of coating under various loads was tested.The wear morphology of the coating was observed,and its wear mechanism was examined.The results indicated that the TiC-Fe coating was well formed and metallurgically bonded to the Q345C substrate.Its microstructure mainly consisted of Fe-Cr solid solution,α-Fe phase,(Fe,Cr)_(7)C_(3) phase and TiC phase.The coating exhibited an average microhardness of 980 HV0.2,which was about 5.4 times that of the Q345C substrate.The wear mass loss of the TiC-Fe coatings was much smaller than that of the Q345C substrate,which indicated that the wear resistance of the Q345C coating was superior to the substrate,and the wear mechanism of the coating was mainly attributed to the abrasive wear.

Effects of process parameters and annealing on microstructure and properties of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy coating prepared by plasma cladding

Plasma cladding was used to prepare a CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy(HEA)coating under different conditions.The process parameters were optimized using an orthogonal experiment design based on surface morphology quality characteristics,dilution rate,and hardness.The optimal process parameters were determined through range and variance analysis to be a cladding current of 70 A,a cladding speed of 7 cm·min^(-1),and a powder gas flow rate of 8 L·s^(-1).During the optimized experiments,both the cladded and annealed CoCrFeMnNi HEA coatings exhibit some pores,micro-voids,and a small amount of aggregation.However,the aggregation in the annealed coating is more dispersed than that in the cladded coating.The cladded CoCrFeMnNi HEA coating consists of simple FCC phases,while a new Cr-rich phase precipitates from the FCC matrix after annealing the coating at a temperature range of 550°C-950°C.After annealing at 850°C,the proportion of the FCC phase decreases compared to the cladded coating,and the number of large-angle grain boundaries is significantly reduced.However,the proportion of grains with sizes below 50μm increases from 61.7%to 74.3%.The micro-hardness and wear resistance of the cladded coating initially increases but then decreases with an increase in annealing temperature,indicating that appropriate annealing can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the CoCrFeMnNi HEA coatings by plasma cladding.The micro-hardness of the CoCrFeMnNi HEA coatings after annealing at 650°C increases to 274.82 HV_(0.2),while the friction coefficient decreases to below 0.595.

Effects of TiB_2+TiC content on microstructure and wear resistance of Ni55-based composite coatings produced by plasma cladding

TiB2-TiC reinforced Ni55 matrix composite coatings were in-situ fabricated via plasma cladding on steels using Ti, B4C, and Ni55 as precursor materials at different proportions. Effects of TiB2+TiC content of ceramics phase on the microstructure and wear resistance were studied. The results showed that ceramic phases TiB2 and TiC were in-situ synthesized by plasma cladding, and the ceramic phase content significantly affected tribological performance and the wear mechanism of coatings under different loads. The composite ceramics protected coatings from further delamination wear by crack-resistance under a load of 30 N. Severe abrasive wear and adhesive wear were prevented when the load increased to 60 N because of the high hardness and strength of ceramic phases. Moreover, a compacted layer appeared on the wear surface of coatings with high content of ceramic phases, which effectively decreased the friction coefficient and wear rate. The TiB2-TiC composite ceramics significantly improved the wear performance of metal matrix composite coatings by different mechanisms under loads of 30 and 60 N.

Influence of process parameters on microstructure of reactive plasma cladding TiC-Fe-Cr coating

A certain amount of Ti was added to the plasma cladding Fe-Cr-C coating in the early stage in order to improve the quality and properties of the coating.Ti-Fe-Cr-C composite powder was prepared by precursor carbonization-composition process.In situ synthesized TiC-Fe-Cr coatings were fabricated on substrate of Q235 steel by plasma cladding process with the composite powder.Microstructures of the coatings with different process parameters,including cladding current,cladding speed,number of overlapping cladding layers,were analyzed by scanning electron microscope.The results show that the structure of the TiC-Fe-Cr coating is greatly affected by the cladding current,the cladding speed and the overlapping cladding process.In this test,when the cladding current of 300 A and the cladding process parameter of the cladding speed of 50 mm/min are clad with three layers,a well-formed and well-structured TiC-Fe-Cr coating can be obtained in this test.TiC-Fe-Cr coating has good wear resistance and good load characteristics under dry sliding wear test conditions.

Preparation and properties of the Ni-Al/Fe-Al intermetallics composite coating produced by plasma cladding

A novel approach to produce an intermetallic composite coating was put forward.The microstructure,microhardness,and dry-sliding wear behavior of the composite coating were investigated using X-ray diffraction （XRD）,scanning electron microscopy （SEM）,energy dispersive spectrum （EDS） analysis,microhardness test,and ball-on-disc wear experiment.XRD results indicate that some new phases FeAl,Fe0.23Ni0.77Al,and Ni3Al exit in the composite coating with the Al2O3 addition.SEM results show that the coating is bonded with carbon steel metallurgically and exhibits typical rapid directional solidification structures.The Cr7C3 carbide and intermetallic compounds co-reinforced composite coating has a high average hardness and exhibits an excellent wear resistance under dry-sliding wear test compared with the Cr7C3 carbide-reinforced composite coating.The formation mechanism of the intermetallic compounds was also investigated.

Microstructure and wear resistance of Fe-Cr-Ti-C reactive plasma cladding coating

Fe-Cr-Ti-C composite powder was synthesized by precursor carbonization-composition process using the mixture of ferrotitanium, chromium, iron powder and precursor sucrose as raw material. And then the Fe-Cr-Ti-C coating was prepared by reactive plasma cladding method. Microstructure of the samples was observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM）, the phases were determined by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and the wear resistance was evaluated under dry sliding wear test conditions at room temperature. Results indicate that the composite coating consists of primary austenite and dendritic eutectic austenite, chrysanthemum-shaped eutectic （Cr, Fe ） 7 C3 and TiC carbide. TiC presents the gradient distribution and different shapes in the coating, corresponding to equiaxial structure both in fusion zone and central zone, while it presents dendritic structure on the surface, respectively. The wear mass loss is insensitive to load for the coating while it increases rapidly for Q235 steel base metal in this test. The wear mass loss ofQ235 steel is 14 times as that of the composite coating under applied load of 40 kg.

Optimization analysis of track comprehensive quality in micro-plasma cladding process

The purpose was to clarify the relationship between the main process parameters of micro-plasma cladding and the comprehensive quality(geometry,microstructure and wear rate of cladding track).Self-fluxing ferrous alloy powders were fabricated on Q235 substrate.Based on the uniform design,the distribution of the experimental samples was designed reasonably in the sample space,which greatly improved efficiency and reduced costs.After a series of microstructural characterization,there was no difference in the phase composition of all samples,but the average grain size had a significant difference,which resulted in the change of wear rate.And the relationship among micro-hardness,average grain size and wear rate of the track had also been investigated.Subsequently,an optimization model was established and the optimal process parameters were obtained with excellent wear rate under the geometric constraints.The correctness of optimization model was verified by experiments.

Physical Characteristics of Plasma Cladding Fe-Cr-Nb-Si-Mo Alloy Cladding Layers on Different Substrates

A plasma cladding experiment was carried out to investigate the characteristics(surface hardness,microstructure,friction,wear properties from different substrates to the cladding layer and the bond strength)of plasma cladding Fe-Cr-Nb-Si-Mo alloy cladding layers on different substrates.In order to improve the abrasion resistance of the scraper middle trough,the plasma cladding technique was used to clad the alloy ceramic powder Ig7 on the surface of the middle trough NM450,WH60A,Hardox450,and Weartuf450 to create Fe/Cr/Nb/Mo/V cladding layer.Based on the experiment results,the microstructure,friction and wear properties of the four cladding layers were analyzed,and the bond strength between the cladding layer and the substrate was also tested.The experimental results show that the main phases of the four cladding layers are martensite and all kinds of metal carbides((Nb,Mo)C,VC,and Cr7C3).WH60A surface cladding layer has shown good friction and wear properties.

Optimization of shearer sliding boots by plasma cladding with Cr_4MnTi

Severe production conditions in coal mines cause damage and failure problems with the oriented sliding boots of the mechanical shearer. Wear has been an especially vexing problem. Plasma cladding methods were used to study optimized sliding boot design. By cladding the substrate steel the surface may be made of a material more resistant to wear. The iron based alloy Cr4MnTi was coated onto a modified 45 steel matrix material in these tests. The results show that the alloy cladding layer is high strength, has high hardness, and is highly resistant to wear. After hardening and tempering, 45 steel substrate has great tenacity so the combined structure meets the performance requirements for the construction of shearer sliding boots.

Study on Fe-based alloy Fe-Cr-Ti-C layers by reactive plasma cladding

Fe-based alloy Fe-Cr-Ti-C composite layers with and without titanium （ other powder ingredients are about the same） were fabricated on Q235 steel by plasma cladding process with high-energy plasma jet as heat source. Microstructure , phase composition and micro-hardness of the layers were investigated by optical microscope （OM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, electron probe microanalysis （ EPMA ） and micro-hardness tester. The results show that the grains of the cladding layers with Ti are much finer than that of the Fe-based cladding layer without Ti. Compared with the cladding layers without Ti, there are more shingle crystals in the cladding layers with Ti and the hard phase （ Cr, Fe ） 7 C3 of the eutectic in the layers increase gradually. However, as increasing titanium content in the alloy powder, the hard phase （Cr, Fe ） 7 C3 in eutectic structure of the cladding layer increases gradually, restraining （ Cr, Fe ）7 C3 carbide precipitation and decreasing the average and maximum hardness of the cladding layer.

Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Cr_7C_3/γ-Fe Ceramal Composite Coating Fabricated by Plasma Cladding

A new type in situ Cr7C3/γ-Fe ceramal composite coating was fabricated on substrate of hardened and tempered grade C steel by plasma cladding with Fe-Cr-C alloy powders. The ceramal composite coating has a rapidly solidified microstructure consisting of primary Cr7C3/γ- and the Cr7C3/γ-Fe eutectics, and is metallurgically bonded to the degree C steel substrate. The corrosion resistances of the coating in water solutions of 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and 3.5% NaCl were evaluated utilizing the electrochemical polarization corrosion-test method. Because of the inherent excellent corrosion-resisting properties of the constituting phase and the rapidly solidified homogeneous microstructure, the plasma clad ceramal composite coating exhibits excellent corrosion resistance in the water solutions of 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and 3.5% NaCl.

Microstructure and corrosion resistance of high-chromium iron-base coating by plasma cladding

A new type of high-chromium iron-base coating was fabricated on substrate of hardened and tempered grade C steel by plasma cladding with Fe-Cr-C alloy powders. The coating has fine microstructure and is metallurgically bonded to the grade C steel substrate. The corrosion resistance of the coating in solutions of 0. 5 mol/L H2SO4 , 3.5 % NaCl and seawater was evaluated utilizing the electrochemical polarization corrosion-test method. Because of the inherent excellent corrosion- resisting properties of the constituting phase and the fine microstucture, the plasma clad coating exhibits excellent corrosion resistance in the water solutions of 0. 5 mol/L H2S04, 3.5% NaCl and seawater.

Influence of La2O3 addition on nano indentation hardness and residual stress of Stellite 6 coating prepared by plasma cladding

One of the problems limiting the application of Stellite 6 coating is the residual stress resulting in cracks in the coating easily. In order to reduce the residual stress and increase the nano-indentation hardness,La2 O3 was added to Stellite 6 coating in this study, and the influence on the microstructure, nano indentation hardness and residual stress of the coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy（SEM） with energy dispersive spectrum（EDS）, X-ray diffraction（XRD） and nano-indentation tester. Results indicate that the addition of La2 O3 leads to the phenomenon that the dendrite is partly transformed into the equiaxed grain, which results in the grain refinement. The nano-indentation hardness of coatings is improved, which is attributed to the fine-grain strengthening and dispersion strengthening effect of La2 O3. With the addition of La2 O3, the residual stress in coatings is decreased significantly. Especially, when the content of La2 O3 is 0.8 wt%, the nano indentation hardness increases by 1.31 times and residual stress decreases to 20 percent, compared with coating without La2 O3.

Microstructure evolution by plasma of WC/Fe-based coating cladding

The composite coatings were formed by plasma cladding Fe-based alloy（Fe-Cr-B-Si） added 10% , 30% and 50% （mass fraction） nickel-clad WC respectively on Q235 steel. The microstructure evolution and microhardness of the coatings were investigated. The WC particles were completely melted into the composites coating when 10% WC was added, however, when 30% or 50% WC was added, only part of them could be melted in the coatings. Two significantly different solidification microstructures were found. When WC content is 10% or 30%, the microstructure is mainly dendrites and inter- dendrite eutectics, while when the content of WC reaches 50% , it becomes remained WC particles, Fe3 W3 C carbide faceted dendrite and eutectics hypereutectic structure. The microhardness of these three coatings reaches 560- 600, 650 -810 and 920 - 1 100 HVo2 respectively, and is improved with the increasing of WC content.

Pulsed plasma arc cladding

A prototype of Pulsed Plasma Arc Cladding system was developed, in which single power source supplies both transferred plasma arc (TPA) and non-transferred plasma arc (N-TPA). Both plasmas work in turn in a high frequency controlled by an IGBT connecting nozzle and workpiece. The working frequency of IGBT ranges from 50 ～ 7 000 Hz, in which the plasmas can work in turn smoothly. Higher than 500 Hz of working frequency is suggested for promotion of cladding quality and protection of IGBT. Drag phenomenon of TPA intensifies as the frequency goes up, which tends to increase the current proportion of TPA and suppress N-TPA. The occupation ratio of IGBT can be regulated from 5% ～ 95%, which balances the power supplies of both plasmas. An occupation ratio higher than 50% gives adequate proportion of arc current for N-TPA to preheat powder.

Microstructure and oxidation resistance of reactive plasma clad Cr_7C_3/γ-Fe ceramic composite coating

A new type oxidation resistance in situ Cr7 C3/γ-Fe ceramic composite coating was fabricated on hardened and tempered grade C steel by reactive plasma clad with Fe-Cr-C alloy powders. The oxidation resistance of the ceramic composite coating was investigated under the test condition of 900 ℃ and 50 hours. The results indicate that the coating has a rapidly solidified microstructure consisting of blocky primary Cr7 C3 and the inter-blocky Cr7 C3/γ-Fe eutectics and is metallurgically bonded to the hardened and tempered grade C steel substrate. The high temperature oxidation resistance of the coating is up to 1.9 times higher than that of grade C steel. The oxidation kinetics curve of the coating is conforming to the parabolic-rate law equation. The excellent oxidation resistance of the coating is mainly attributed to the continuous oxide films which consist of Cr203 and Fe203. The continuous oxide films can prevent the inner part of the coating from being further oxidized.

Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Fe-Cr-B-Si-based Alloy Coating on the Surface of Scraper Conveyor Middle Trough NM450

This paper aims to develop a surface modification process to improve the surface properties of the middle trough.The coatings were prepared by plasma cladding with Fe-Cr-B-Si-based alloy powders (Ig 6 and Ig7).The organizational structure and micro-hardness of the coatings were analyzed by laboratory equipments.The friction and wear tests were performed to investigate the friction-wear properties of middle trough.The coatings have higher hardness and good friction-wear properties than the substrate.The hardness and friction wear properties of the coating with Ig7 powder are better than those with Ig6 powder.The experimental results show that the surface properties of the middle trough are improved by Fe-Cr-B-Si-based alloy coating,which can improve the middle trough service life.The plasma cladding can be widely used in the surface-modification of middle trough to reduce the waste of resources.

In situ synthesis of Fe-based alloy clad coatings containing TiB_2–TiN –(h-BN)

Fe-based alloy coatings containing TiB2–TiN –（h-BN） were synthesized in situ on Q235 steel substrates by a plasma cladding process using the powders of Fe901 alloy, Ti, and h-BN as raw materials. The effects of Ti/h-BN mass ratio on interfacial bonds between the coating and substrate along with the microstructures and microhardnesses of the coatings were investigated. The results show that the Ti/h-BN mass ratio is a vital factor in the formation of the coatings. Free h-BN can be introduced into the coatings by adding an excess amount of h-BN into the precursor. Decreases in the Ti/h-BN mass ratio improve the microstructural uniformity and compactness and enhance the interfacial bonds of the coatings. At a Ti/h-BN mass ratio of 10/20, the coating is free of cracks and micropores, and mainly consists of Fe-Cr, Fe3B, TiB2, TiN, Ti2N, TiB, FeN, FeB, Fe2B, and h-BN phases. Its average microhardness in the zone between 0.1–2.8 mm from the coating surface is about Hv0.2 551.5.

Effects of C/B4 C ratio on microstructure and property of Fe-based alloy coatings reinforced with in situ synthesized TiB2 -TiC

The Fe-based alloy coatings reinforced with in situ synthesized TiB2-TiC were prepared on Q235 steel by reactive plasma cladding using Fe901 alloy, Ti, B4C, and graphite （C） powders us raw materials. The effects of C/B4C weight percentage ratio （0 - 1. 38 ） on the microstructure , microhardness , and wet sand abrasion resistance of the coatings were investigated. The results show that the coatings consist of （ Fe, Cr ） solid solution, TiC, TiB2, Ti8C5 , and Fe3 C phases. The decrease of C/B4 C ratio is propitious to the formation of TiB2 and Tis C5. Increasing the C/B4 C ratio can help to refine the microstructure of the coatings. However, the microhardness of the middle-upper of the coatings and the wet sand abrasion resistance of the coatings degenerate with the increase of C/B4C ratio. The coating exhibits the best wet sand abrasion resistance at C/BaC =0 and its average mass loss rate per unit wear distance is 0. 001 2%/m. The change of the wet sand abrasion resistance of the coatings with the C/B4C ratio can be mainly attributed to the combined action of the changes of microhardness and the volume percentage of the ceramic reinforcements containing titanium in the coatings.

Effect of electromagnetic stirring on the microstructure and wear behavior of iron-based composite coatings

The effect of electromagnetic stirring on the microstructure and wear behavior of coatings has been investigated. A series of iron-based coatings were fabricated by the plasma-transferred arc cladding process by applying different magnetic field currents. The microstructure and wear resistance of the composite coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope （SEM）, en- ergy dispersive X-ray analysis （EDAX）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and wet sand rubber wheel abrasion tester. The experimental results showed that the microstructure of the coatings was mainly the γ-Fe matrix and （Cr, Fe）7C3 carbide reinforced phase. The coatings were metallurgically bonded to the substrate. With increasing magnetic field current, the amount of the block-like （Cr, Fe）TC3 carbide reinforced phase increased at first, reached a local maximum, and then decreased sharply. When the magnetic field current reached 3 A, the block-like （Cr, Fe）TC3 carbides with high volume fraction were uniformly distributed in the matrix and the coating displayed a high microhardness and an excellent wear resistance under the wear test condition.