Coaxial laser cladding of cobalt-base alloy StelliteTM 6 on gray cast iron/investigations on friction, wear versus commercial brake pad, and corrosion characteristics

Abstract

Environmental legislation and the electrification of vehicles place increased requirements on brake disks in terms of wear and corrosion resistance. Departing from a preliminary study, the present investigation examined the friction and wear behavior as well as the corrosion properties of Stellite™ 6 coatings on gray cast iron, which were deposited by laser cladding. The friction and wear experiments were conducted on a pin-on-disk tribometer at contact pressures of 1.0 and 2.0 MPa as well as rotation speeds of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 2.0 m/s. The pins are manufactured from an automotive semi-metallic brake pad. The friction behavior of gray cast iron and Stellite™ 6 coatings is similar under changing test conditions. The tribological behavior is strongly influenced by the microstructural and mechanical properties of the coatings and the brake pad material. A third body layer of contact patches is formed on Stellite™ 6, which mainly consists of brake pad components. The transformation of the Co-matrix (fcc → hcp), subsurface fatigue, and tribo-oxidation are the main wear mechanism for Stellite™ 6. The electrochemical characteristics were analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization, and the corrosion rate was determined with Tafel plots in 3.5% NaCl solution, respectively. Compared to gray cast iron, Stellite™ 6 coatings have a pronounced corrosion resistance due to the formation of a protective passive layer of Co and Cr oxides. This corrosion resistance is mainly influenced by the microstructure. The corrosion rate of the coatings increases in parallel with the Fe dilution.