Effect of carbon nanotubes content on microstructure and properties of WC/Ni laser cladding coatings

ABSTRACT

To enhance the mechanical properties of Ni–WC coatings, the carbon nanotubes were used as reinforced materials by laser cladding. Optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the effect of CNTs content on the phase composition and microstructure. The microhardness and wear resistance were measured by Vickers hardness testing and friction wear testing. Experimental results showed that the new phases Cr₂Fe₁₄C are found in the coatings with CNTs, the grain size is finer than that of the coating without CNTs. The microhardness and wear resistance of the coatings with CNTs content ranging from 0 to 5 wt-% present increase initially and then decrease trend. The coatings with 3 wt-% CNTs have the highest microhardness and wear resistance, which proved that the appropriate amount of CNTs addition is 3 wt-%.

KEYWORDS:

• Laser cladding
• CNTs content
• WC–Ni coating
• phase analysis
• microstructure
• reinforcement
• micro hardness
• wear resistance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Major Science and Technology Special Subsidy Projects in Karamay City, Xinjiang [grant number 2018ZD002B].