Mechanical and tribological Characterization of tungsten carbide Reinforced nicrbsi composite coating Deposited using plasma transferred Arc welding process

Abstract

Surfacing or hard-surfacing is a process of depositing materials or special alloys on a substrate to obtain desired properties at the functional surfaces. Hardfacing materials are not inherent to the base metal and are used to rebuild the worn-out components makes them suitable for the service life again. Further, hard-facing is a profitable and most economical method to apply harder or tougher materials on metal components for improving the surface properties like hardness, corrosion, wear resistance, etc. Hardfacing is widely used in industries like mining, quarrying, heavy machinery, agriculture, ground engaging tools, construction, energy, oil and gas, etc. The demand for required industrial applications leads to the research and development of various Fe, Ni and Co-based hard-facing alloys. Among the numerous hardfacing alloys available Ni-based alloys are considered to be the suitable material for hardfacing alloys for their better creep strength, fracture toughness, oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance. Further, Nickel possesses the ability to retain its FCC structure from lower temperature to the melting point. In addition to this researchers found that the wear resistance of Ni-based hardfacing alloys can be enhanced by the addition of hard particles. These coatings are called Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) in which hard particles are reinforced in Ni matrix are known to be the ideal material to combat severe abrasive wear. This work studies the mechanical and tribological properties of NiCrBSi coating reinforced with different weight percentages of WC (0%, 20%, 30% and 40%). NiCrBSi, NiCrBSi-20%WC, NiCrBSi-30%WC and NiCrBSi- 40%WC hardfacings are produced on Stainless steel 316L (SS-316L) using Plasma Transferred Arc Welding Process (PTAW). Welding parameters are carefully chosen as they are having a significant influence on the chemical composition and final properties of the hardfacings newline