Laser Cladding of Ni-Co-W Composite Coating on Stainless Steel to Enhance Wear Resistance

Abstract

Ni-Co-W composite coatings modified by different contents of Co-based alloy powder in the Ni-based alloy with 35 wt.% WC (Ni35WC) were deposited on stainless steel by laser cladding. The influence of compositional and microstructural modification on the wear properties has been comparatively investigated by XRD, SEM, and EDS techniques. It was found that the austenite dendrites in the modified coating adding 50 wt.% Co-based alloy were refined and a lot of Cr₂₃C₆ or M₂₃(C, B)₆ compounds with fine lamellar feature were formed around austenitic grain boundaries or in the intergranular regions. The contribution of element Co to the modification of Ni35WC coating is that it cannot only promote the formation of more hard compounds to refine austenite grains, but also refine the size of precipitates, and change the phase type of eutectic structure as a result of disappeared Cr boride brittle phases. A noticeable improvement in wear resistance is obtained in the Ni35WC coating with 50 wt.% Co-based alloy, which makes the wear rate decreased by about 53 % and 30% by comparison to that of the substrate and the Ni35WC coating, respectively. It is suggested that the improvement is closely related to the composite coating being strengthened owing to the increase of coating hardness, formation of a fine-grained microstructure caused by Co, and fine hard precipitate phases in the eutectic structure.