The Microstructural Properties and Tribological Performance of Al2O3 and TiN Nanoparticles Reinforced Ti–6Al–4V Composite Coating Deposited on AISI304 Steel by TIG Cladding

Abstract This investigation presents the tribological performance of (Al2O3 + TiN)/Ti6Al4V cladding deposited on AISI304 steel substrate by the tungsten inert gas (TIG) cladding approach. The microstructural characterization by SEM confirmed claddings with visually crack-free and sound metallurgical bonding at the clad layer—substrate interface. The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed the presence of matrix and reinforcement phases as major elements with the clad layer and with considerably no oxidation during their deposition. The XRD spectra revealed that matrix and reinforcements are dominant phases in the clad layer. The formation of compounds reflected considerably a lower dilution of reinforcement phase with Ti6Al4V matrix during melting and deposition. Higher the microhardness of the (Al2O3 + TiN)/Ti6Al4V clad layer in the cladding zone compared with other clad layer compositions such as Ti6Al4V, Al2O3/Ti6Al4V, and TiN/Ti6Al4V, it is varied from 1130HV0.2 to 1222HV0.2, and the average microhardness is about 990.57HV0.2 which is 175% improvement compared with the substrate. The cladding with dual reinforcement composition has shown a superior wear resistance compared with all other clad layer composite compositions. The improvement in the wear resistance achieved with (Al2O3 + TiN)/Ti6Al4V composite clad layer deposition at 2.5 m/s, 3.5 m/s, and 4.5 m/s sliding velocities is 56.60%, 63.26%, and 68.53%, respectively, compared with the substrate. The wear morphology of the composite claddings is relatively smoother and the wear furrows are shallower compared with the substrate, especially for the composite clad layer with (Al2O3 + TiN) reinforcement phase.