Effects of WC particles on microstructure and wear behavior of laser cladding Ni60 composite coatings

Laser cladding(LC) nickel base composite coatings have obvious advantages in improving the surface performance of submersible electric pump impellers. In this paper, the WC/Ni coatings are prepared by LC of Ni60 composite powder with nano and micron WC particles on the surface of the impeller. The effects of two WC particles on the microstructure physical phase, microhardness and frictional wear properties of the Ni60 coatings were studied and the strengthening mechanism of nanometer and micron WC particles on the properties of LC layer was analysed. The results show that after the addition of WC particles, the microhardness and wear resistance of the coatings are improved, and the microhardness of micro-WC/Ni60 coatings, nano-WC/Ni60 coatings and micron-nano-WC/Ni60 coatings are increased by 20.1%, 30.8% and 16.1%, respectively, and the wear rates were reduced by 44.4%, 55.6% and 33.3%, respectively.