Improvement of Wear Resistance of the Nickel Based Alloy Mixed with Rare Earth Elements by High Power Direct Diode Laser Cladding

Abstract

Wear is a restricting factor for steel in hostile environments but can be abated by laser cladding. Laser cladding of steel poses a promising solution to wear resistance. The high power direct diode laser is employed for the laser cladding of thicknesses of about 1.6 mm. Recently, the light rare earth metals have become important additions to smart materials, particularly Lanthanum oxide (La2O3) and Cerium Oxide (CeO2), to improve microhardness and wear resistance. Layers of Ni-WC with 1% and 2% La2O3 and CeO2 as alloying elements were cladded onto A36 steel substrate. The wear resistance and microstructure were studied with XRD and SEM. The hardness to modulus of elasticity ratio (H/E) was used to analyze the wear. It was found that the addition of 1% La2O3 or 1% CeO2 to Nickel-based alloy (40% Ni-60% WC) improves the wear resistance.