Surface enhanced 316L/SiC nano-composite coatings via laser cladding and following cold-swaging process

Abstract

Cold-swaging is one of a cold deformation processes, and ceramic-reinforcement nano-composite coatings can effectively improve the performance of metal matrix surface. Therefore, the two processes are innovatively combined to further improve the surface properties of the metal matrix in this paper. The microstructure and surface properties of the laser cladding 316L + 10 wt% SiC nano-composite coatings were examined through designed experiments after cold-swaging by self-developed hydraulic machine. Furthermore, the coatings were compared with those without cold-swaging coatings at the same time. The result shows that the cold-swaging process can further enhance the tensile strength, micro-hardness and the wear resistance of the composite coating. This study can be used as a reference for further strengthening of laser cladding nano-composite coatings in future research.