Unveiling of grain structure, porosity, phase distributions, microstructural morphology, surface hardness, and tribo-corrosion characteristics of nickel, and titanium dioxide-based SS-304 steel microwave composite coatings cladding

The microstructure, homogeneity, and tribo-corrosion behavior of microwave-developed Nickel as well as titanium dioxide SS-304 cladding surfaces are the primary emphasis of this research. The study includes assessing the hardness enhancement from Ni and TiO2 particles in the cladding surface. The investigation additionally evaluates cladding surface wear rates, friction coefficients, and resistance to corrosion under tribological conditions. The microstructure, homogeneity, and tribo-corrosion behavior of SS-304 cladding surface with Ni and TiO2 developed by microwave cladding energy were investigated in this study. The microstructure was being examined to validate the uniformly homogeneous dispersion of Ni and TiO2 particles, and XRD was employed to determine cladding surface phases. The hardness of the cladding surface was evaluated, and a pin-on-disk tribometer has assessed the wear behavior. Tribo-corrosion was tested in 3.5-percent NaCl solution. To enhance cladding's efficiency, microwave hybrid heating (MHH) utilising charcoal as a susceptor has been employed. Findings exhibited that the microstructure analysis showed that the cladding surface had a uniform distribution of Ni and TiO2 particles and a compact and homogeneous microstructure. The hardness of the cladding surface was significantly improved by about 37.68% due to the incorporation of Ni and 10% TiO2 particles. The FeNi3, NiSi2, Ni3C, NiC, Ni2Si, FeNi, and TiO2 phases were seen by XRD on the cladding surface. The behavior of the cladding surface under tribological conditions was also evaluated using a pin-on-disk tribometer. The outcomes have exhibited that the Ni and 10% TiO2 cladding surface exhibited decreased wear rates and friction coefficients compared to the uncoated SS-304 substrate. Moreover, the tribo-corrosion behavior of the cladding surface was evaluated in a 3.5% NaCl solution. The wear rate and coefficient of friction of Ni and 10% TiO2 cladding surfaces were measured to be 0.00412 mm3/m and 0.297, respectively. The results indicated that the Ni and TiO2 cladding surface had enhanced corrosion resistance compared to the uncoated SS-304 substrate.