Laser Melt Injecting Tic and Wc Ceramic Reinforced Coatings on Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

Preparation of ceramic reinforced coating on aluminum alloy surface is a common method to improve the wear resistance. Traditional methods usually have some drawbacks such as low adhesion and obvious element dilution. In this paper, TiC and WC reinforced coatings were prepared in situ on aluminum alloy surface using laser melt injection melted, and different times of remelting treatment were attempted to increase the wear resistance of the coatings. Optical microscopy (OM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to identify the microstructure and phase composition of the coatings. The results showed that the coatings without remelting treatment illustrated good wear resistance. After remelting treatment, WC particles gathered at the bottom of the coating. Even though new fine WC ceramic particles formed in the coating, the hardness of the coating was not significantly improved. For WC reinforced coating, there are obvious cracks in the coating after remelting. However, aggregation and cracking were not happened in TiC reinforced coatings. Wear resistance could not be increased obviously using remelting treatment.

Keywords: Laser melt injection, aluminum alloy, Wear resistant, coatings