Development of TiC Based Wear Resistance Composite Coating on AISI 304 Steel by Pulsed Laser and TIG Cladding Process

TiC is a preferred coating material for the components working under the extreme tribological condition, due to its high hardness, high melting temperature, and low density. In order to improve the hardness and wear resistance properties of stainless steel surface, TiC reinforced coating has been produced on AISI 304 stainless steel using pulsed Nd:YAG laser and Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) cladding process. Further, to enhance the efficiency of TIG cladding process as well as to amend the tribological properties of TiC based coating, Ni (for better bonding) and CaF2 (as a solid lubricant) have been incorporated in various phases of experiments. The produced composite coatings are then analyzed by using SEM, FESEM and XRD for microstructural evaluation and phase identification. Micro-hardness value of the produced TiC, TiC-Ni, and TiC-Ni-CaF2 coating has been measured by Vickers micro-indentation tester and the tribological behavior of the produced coatings have been assessed by sliding abrasive wear test through pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The experimental analysis revealed that TiC reinforced composite coating produced by TIG heat source improved the micro-hardness and abrasive wear resistance significantly. Further, with the incorporation of Ni, bonding between the substrate and TiC reinforcement enhances, and consequently augmented the wear resistance of the coating. In addition, by employing CaF2 with TiC and Ni, the coefficient of friction (COF) of the coating diminishes, which found become beneficial for the performance of the coating