Research on in situ synthesised (Ti,V)C/Fe composite coating by laser cladding

Laser cladding is an effective way to improve the wear resistance of mechanical components. In this study, the composite carbide (Ti,V)C reinforced Fe based coating was successfully synthesised by laser cladding the powder mixtures of ferrotitanium, ferrovanadium and graphite. The samples were analysed to assess the microstructure, microhardness and wear properties. Results indicate that high quality composite coating with metallurgical joint to the steel substrate was obtained. During laser cladding processes, it is found that the (Ti,V)C composite particles were in situ synthesised and distributed evenly in the coating. The microhardness and wear properties of the clad coating were improved significantly in comparison to the steel substrate due to the presence of the hard reinforcement (Ti,V)C.