Abrasive wear performance of laser cladded Inconel 625 based metal matrix composites: Effect of the vanadium carbide reinforcement phase content

In the present work, laser cladding of vanadium carbide (VC)-reinforced Inconel 625 (In625) metal matrix composite (MMC) coating was carried out on grade 304 stainless steel substrates. The microstructure, hardness, and abrasive wear performance were studied by changing the weight fraction of VC at 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt%, respectively. The effects of increasing the reinforcement phase on the microstructure evolution, composition, hardness, and abrasion resistance properties were evaluated on the obtained coatings. The results indicated the formation of defect-free coatings alongside the formation of secondary strengthening precipitates were observed within the primary γ-Ni matrix in the In625 clad. Complex secondary carbides were formed on all MMC coatings near the In625-VC interface region, indicating the formation of an interphase which guaranteed the bonding between the matrix and reinforcement. The results also showed an almost linear relationship between the amount of VC into the In625 alloy clads and the clads hardness. With a VC content of 15 wt%, the clads hardness increased approximately 65% with respect to a 100% In625 coating. On the other hand, while the addition of 5 wt% of VC slightly improves the abrasion resistance of the In625, further increased of the reinforcement phase content led to a reduction of the clads behaviour. • Vanadium carbide reinforced Inconel 625 coatings were deposited via laser cladding. • The higher the vanadium carbide content the higher the hardness of the clad. • The increase of reinforcement phase content led to a reduction of the clads abrasion resistance.