Influence of copper on microstructures and wear resistance of laser composite coating

Laser cladding of the Fe3Al+(Co-coated WC)/C+SiC/nano-CeO2 pre-placed powders on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy can form a composite coating, which improved the wear resistance of substrate. However, the pores and micro-crack were produced in such coating. In this study, Cu was used to improve the quality of such coating. The Cu reinforced laser clad composite coating has been researched by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. It was noted that with Cu addition, such composite coating exhibited a compact microstructure free of pores and microcrack. And the Cu reinforced composite coating also exhibited an effective wear resistance due to the actions of the phase constitution and fine-grain strengthening.