Development of an iron-based hardfacing material reinforced with Fe-(TiW)C composite powder

The objective of this work is to investigate the correlation of microstructure with wear resistance in a hardfacing material reinforced with Fe-(TiW)C composite powder particles. This material was designed for cladding components subjected to highly abrasive conditions and was deposited on a low-carbon steel substrate by open arc welding. The theoretical and experimental work undertaken includes solidification study, microstructural characterization, and abrasive wear testing. Microstructural analysis of the hardfaced top layer of the alloy showed the presence of TiWC carbide particles and TiNbC carbides randomly distributed in a eutectic mixture matrix gamma/M7C3 containing primary austenite dendrites. Microstructural examinations also showed that hard and fine spherulitic carbides, in which a Ti-rich MC carbide core was encircled by MC carbide enriched with Nb and W, were homogeneously distributed in the matrix. The energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping of spherulitic carbides showed that the any added Nb replaced a significant part of W in the Fe-(TiW)C powder, and W preferentially partitioned into other carbides and matrix during solidification. Abrasion test results showed that the preceding carbides improve the wear resistance of the hardfacing material in comparison with conventional Fe-Cr-C and Fe-Cr-C-Nb alloys, especially under high stress conditions.