Microstructure and wear behaviours of laser-clad Cr13Ni5Si2-based metal-silicide coatings on a titanium alloy

Wear-resistant Cr13Ni5Si2-based metal-silicide coatings with a microstructure consisting of Cr13Ni5Si2 primary dendrites and small amount of interdendritic Cr13Ni5Si2/Cr3Ni5Si2 eutectics were fabricated on a titanium alloy BT9 by laser cladding using Cr-Ni-Si alloy powders in order to enhance the tribological properties of titanium alloys. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The wear resistance of the coating was evaluated under room-temperature metallic dry-sliding wear test conditions. Due to the presence of a large amount of Cr13Ni5Si2 primary phase, the coatings exhibited excellent wear resistance under dry-sliding wear test conditions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.