Effects of WC–Ni content on microstructure and wear resistance of laser cladding Ni-based alloys coating

Different WC–Ni contents of NiCrBSi/WC–Ni composite coatings were produced on stainless steel by laser cladding. The effect of WC–Ni doping on the microstructure and tribological properties of the conventional NiCrBSi coating were systematically investigated. It has been found that the microhardness and wear resistance of the Ni-based alloy coatings are greatly increased after adding the WC–Ni particles, due to the formation of hard WC phase and a partial dissolution of WC particles on the Ni matrix after laser cladding. The laser cladding NiCrBSi/WC–Ni composite coatings, involving only mild abrasive and adhesive wear when sliding against the AISI-52100 counterpart (under ball-on-disk and ring-on-block wear test conditions). Thus, it is concluded that the incorporation of WC phase is an effective and attainable way to improve the tribological properties of conventional Ni-based alloys coatings.