Comparative studies on microstructural characteristics and wear behavior of high-speed and low-speed laser cladding graphene/CoCrFeMo0.5NiTi0.5 high-entropy alloy composite layers

Abstract

To prevent the failure of curved parts due to wear under actual working conditions, a graphene/CoCrFeMo0.5NiTi0.5 high-entropy alloy composite coating was prepared on the surface of a curved part using both high-speed and low-speed laser cladding (LLC). The surface morphology, physical phases, elemental distribution, microstructure, microhardness, and wear behavior of this coating applied via high-speed and LLC were comparatively studied. The results showed that the maximum height difference on the surface of the high-speed laser cladding (HLC) layer was only 44.7% of that of the LLC layer, and the surface powder was more completely melted. The average microhardness of the HLC layer was about 1.49 times higher than that of the LLC layer and showed a maximum hardness of 666.38 HV0.5, which was about 2.95 times higher than that of the substrate. The internal microstructure of the HLC layer was finer and the diffusion of Fe atoms from the substrate into the coating was significantly reduced. In all three wear environments, abrasive wear occurred in both the low-speed and HLC layers. The total wear rate of the LLC layer was 230.588 μm3·N-1·mm-1, which was about 3.06 times higher than that of the HLC layer (75.395 μm3·N-1·mm-1). The wear surfaces of both cladding layers were oxidized, and the wear rate increased with the oxygen content on the wear surfaces under the same wear conditions. Meanwhile, the oxygen content of the wear surfaces of both cladding layers in sodium chloride solution was significantly higher than that during dry wear.