DIAMALLOY-2001, WC COATING

DEVELOPED ON MILD STEEL

THROUGH LASER CLADDING
BTP Report II

ABHIJIT KUMAR DAS & ISHAN PATHAK

12ME10002 & 12ME10023

DIAMALLOY-2001,WC COATING
DEVELOPED ON MILD STEEL
THROUGH LASER CLADDING
PROJECT REPORT FOR BACHELOR THESIS PROJECT
(VII SEMESTER)
SUBMITTED BY

ABHIJIT KUMAR DAS, ISHAN PATHAK

ROLL NUMBER: 12ME10002, 12ME10023

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF.PARTHA SAHA

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
KHARAGPUR

CERTIFICATE
The report entitled DIAMALLOY-2001,WC COATING DEVELOPED ON MILD STEEL
THROUGH LASER CLADDING is being submitted by Mr. Abhijit Kumar Das, Roll No.
12ME10002, & Mr. Ishan Pathak, Roll No. 12ME10023 to the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, IIT- Kharagpur for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree,
Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur. This document is a record of the bona fide work carried out by them under my
supervision and guidance.

Date:

14/04/2016

Prof. Partha Saha

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur - 721302.

Index
1.
2.
3.
4.

Introduction.1
Literature Survey2-3
Work-plan and Methodology.
Experimental Details...
a. Wire-EDM ...
b. Etching .
c. Polishing.......
d. Microhardness Testing......
e. Dry sliding Reciprocating wear test..
5. Results and Discussion....
a. Microhardness Testing..
b. Optical Microscopy...
c. Dry sliding Reciprocating wear test..

Abstract
Mild steel is the cheapest steel and most commonly used steel. The reason it is so popular
besides its low cost is that it is very hard, yet weldable, and while it rusts easily, it is still a very
long lasting product. Mild steel composes many of the ordinary, everyday objects that are made
from steel including motorcycle frames, automobile chassis, and cookware. Because it doesn't
really have much resistance to corrosion, it has to be painted or otherwise protected and then
sealed to keep it from rusting over and eventually being damaged. Usually it is painted, oiled &
greased to protect it against rust and increase its service life. In the present work attempts were
made to improve the tribological properties of mild steel surface by developing hard and bulk
clad layers for longer service life of that product. Clad layers were developed by laser cladding
using a mixture of 50 % Diam Alloy 2001 coating and 50 % tungsten carbide coating. Effects of
laser scan speeds on coatings formation, micro hardness, and dry sliding wear performance
were investigated.

Introduction
Mild Steel is an excellent choice of material for use in the construction of frames for any vehicle,
motorcycles in particular due to the minimal amount required. Most motorcycle frames are
constructed from steel. It is practically an industrial standard. Steel is very strong and it can also
be welded.
Diamalloy 2001 has a chemistry of Ni 17Cr 4Fe 4Si 3.5B 1C.It has a particle size of -45+15 um
and has a spheroidal shape. It can be used in the as-sprayed or fused condition. Coatings are
dense, hard and essentially oxide free. They are very dense self-fluxing alloy coatings and
readily coalesce during fusing. Self-Fluxing Alloy Powders are a type of thermal spraying
(welding) materials which have functions of self-deoxidization and self-slag formation when
melting The coating is resistant to abrasive grains, hard surfaces, cavitation, particle erosion and
fretting & offers the best corrosion resistance of all the self-fluxing alloys. It has wide variety of
applications in cam followers, wear rings and utility exhaust fans.

Work plan and Methodology

Laser cladding (pre-placed powder method)

Homogenous mixture of WC(50% wt.), Diam Alloy

2001(50% wt.) as powder material
Mild Steel as base metal

Cutting of Sample in Wire EDM Machine

one piece of 6 mm length

two pieces of 3 mm length

Polishing on Silicon Carbide MRE Paper followed

by Diamond Paste Grinding (for both cut samples)

Grades P240, P400, P600, P1000 were used

Diamond paste Grinding using Hyfin Spray and selvet

cloth was employed to obtain mirror finish

Light Etching (of mild steel) of 6mm length cut

sample

Etchant used Nitral (5ml HNO3, 95 ml Ethanol)

Etching of mild steel

Ultrasonic Washing in acetone of two cut pieces of

3mm length

Dry Sliding Wear test on vacuum Tribometer

Load applied = 5N
Acquisition Rate = 10Hz
Amplitude = 5mm
Total distance traversed = 40 m
Maximum Velocity = 20 cm/sec.

Optical Microscopy (cross-section) of all 6 clad

tracks

Conclusion and Recommendations

Experimental Details:
The powder mixture of Tungsten carbide (WC) (50 wt%) and Diamalloy 2001 (50 wt%) were
manually mixed for 4 hrs to get a homogeneous mixture of cladding powder materials. The
powder materials were then mixed with 2 % polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution and stirred to
form a paste. The substrate was then polished with a SiC emery paper of grit size 600 meshes
and cleaned with acetone. The semi-solid paste of powder materials was then placed on the
substrate with the help of coater machine to obtain a uniform thickness of pre-placed powders.
The thickness of pre-placed powder mixture applied on the substrate was 200m. The sample
with the pre-placed powders were put into a muffle furnace for a period of about 1015 min at a
temperature of 150C for baking. Finally, the sample was irradiated with a Ytterbium Fibre Laser
having wavelength 1.06m capable of delivering 2 kW maximum power in continuous mode
with a spot diameter of 3 mm in argon shroud at a pressure of 1.5 bar. Sufficient time was
allowed so as to cool the sample to room temperature before the subsequent operation. The
parameters are shown in Table
Track

Scan Speed

Number

(mm/min)

300

600

900

1200

1500

1800

Wire-EDM machine:
The sample was cut into 3 pieces using wire edm machine.

Figure 1.1 Wire EDM Machine

The dimensions of the 3 cut pieces are as follows:
a. 3mm length (2 pieces)
b. 6 mm length (1 piece)

Polishing:
The sample was polished with silicon carbide water proof paper of grade P200, P400, P800,
P1000, P1200 with water as lubricant.

Figure1.2 Polishing Machine

XX

Then we polished the sample with diamond paste along with hyfin spray on selvet cloth to obtain
mirror finish.

Etching of the sample:

Then we etched the sample with etchant so that we can distinguish the boundary of the clad layer
at the cross section. The etchant used was Nitral which is a mixture of ethanol (95%) and nitric
acid (5%), for etching mild steel.

Clad Layer can be

visibly
distinguished from
base metal after
etching

Figure 1.3 Sample after etching with Nitral

Micro-hardness test:
The polished cross-sections of cladding layers were examined for Vickers micro-hardness tests
with an applied load of 50 g and dwell time of 10 s. A series of microhardness values, beginning
from top and moving towards the substrate on each of the three samples, were measured with
repetitions. Huge variations in the microhardness values (1901200 HV) were observed.

Figure 1.4 For the purpose of microhardness measurement

three indents were taken and their average was used as
microhardness value at any single vertical depth location.
7

Results and Discussion

The micro-hardness distribution for all 6 tracks are given below

Track #1 (scan speed =300 mm/min)

Track#2 (scan speed =600 mm/min)

800

700

700

600

MIcro-Hardness

Micro-Hardness

600

500
400
300
200

500
400
300
200
100

100

0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

500

1000

1500

2000

vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

Vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

Track #3 (scan speed =900 mm/min)

Track#4 (scan speed =1200 mm/min)

900

1200

800
1000

Micro-Hardness

Micro-Hardness

700
600
500
400
300
200

800
600
400
200

100
0

0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

200

400

600

Vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

Vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

800

Track #5 (scan speed =1500 mm/min)

Track#6 (scan speed =1800 mm/min)

1000

1200

900
1000

Micro-hardness

700
600
500
400
300
200

800
600
400
200

100
0

0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

100

200

300

400

Conclusions

Average microhardness of clad layer was 789.76 HV0.05 and that of the base metal was
180 HV0.05
Presence of WC particles in the matrix increased the hardness values as expected

A general trend observed for each of the tracks was that the microhardness first increases
and then decreases gradually towards that of the base metal
It might be due to abundance of tungsten carbide below the top surface owing to its high
density resulting in maxima in hardness profile somewhere below the top surface,
however due to Marangonis Forces acting on the molten base metal during the cladding
process the hardness value keeps on decreasing within the clad layer and gradually
converges to that of the base metal.

Microhardness was observed to increase with the scanning speed

Increase in microhardness due to higher cooling rates as scan speed increases

Average Microhardness(clad layer) vs Scan Speed

1000
500

Clad Layer
Base Metal

0
1

500

vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

vertical depth from top (in micrometres)

MIcroHardness Value

Micro-hardness

800

4
5
Scan Speed
Base Metal
Clad Layer

600

Optical Microscopy
Cross section of the clad layers were pictured in the Optical Microscope to compare the relative
sizes of the clad layers and compare their dilution levels.
Geometrical dilution was measured as =

Geometrical Dilution

Geometrical Dilution vs Scan Speed

1

Fig 1.5 Clad Bead geometry

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

Scan Speed (mm/min)

Dilution was lower at increased scan speeds as expected.

Cross-section at scan speed 300

mm/min (5x)

Cross-section at scan speed 600

mm/min (5x)

Cross-section at scan speed 1200

mm/min (5x)

Cross-section at scan speed 1500

mm/min (5x)

10

Cross-section at scan speed 900

mm/min (5x)

Cross-section at scan speed 1800

mm/min (5x)

DRY-SLIDING RECIPROCATING WEAR TEST

The samples were polished with SiC water proof paper with grades of P240, P400, P800, P1000,
P1200. Then dry-slide wear tests were performed on tribometer. The tests were performed taking
the following parameters
Parameters

Values

Force

5N

Frequency

10Hz

Amplitude

5mm

Total distance to be covered

50m

Speed

20cm/s
Fig 1.6 Vacuum Tribometer for wear testing

To gauge the wear performance, all samples were tested in vacuum tribometer for parameters
like penetration depth and friction coefficient (all parameters were measured against WC ball
used as second surface)
The respective results for all the 6 tracks are shown below

Track 1 Scan speed = 300 mm/min

0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0

Penetration depth (m)

Friction Coefficient

Track 1 Scan speed = 300 mm/min

10

20

30

2480
2470
2460
2450
2440
2430
2420
0

40

200

400

600

Total wear Length

Total wear Length (m)

11

800

1000

1200

Track 2 Scan speed = 600 mm/min

Track 2 Scan speed = 600 mm/min

0.25

Penetration Depth(m)

Friction Coefficient

0.3

0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

10

15

450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

20

200

Total traversed distance (in m)

800

1000

1200

660

Penetration depth(m)

0.2

Friction Coefficient

600

Track 3 Scan Speed = 1200 mm/min

Track 3 Scan speed = 1200mm/min

0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

650
640
630
620
610
600
590
0

60

10

Total wear Length(in m)

Penetration depth (m)

0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
2

30

40

50

60

Track 5 Scan Speed = 1500 mm/min

0.1

20

Total wear length (in m)

Track 5 Scan Speed = 1500 mm/min

Friction Coefficient

400

Total Distance Traversed (in m)

10

12

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0

Total Wear Length(m)

Total Wear Length (m)

12

10

12

Track 6 Scan Speed = 1800 mm/min

Track 6 Scan Speed = 1800 mm/min

2670

Penetration Depth (m)

Friction Coefficient

0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02

2665
2660
2655
2650
2645
2640

0
0

10

12

10

Total wear Length (m)

Total wear Length(m)

Conclusions
1. From the plots of track 6,3,2,1 initially the WC surface of the ball rubs against the top
surface of the clad layer. Since matrix of the clad layer is softer than the WC particles it
gets eroded quickly and the matrix layer level decreases below the previous or initial
value. Below figure shows the condition of the matrix of the clad layer before and after
rubbing takes place.
WC Ball
surface

WC Ball
surface

WC
Particle

Matrix Layer of clad

Initial Matrix
Layer

Final Matrix
Layer

BEFORE

WC
Particle

AFTER
Fig 1.7 Description of wear mechanism

As the tungsten carbide balls surface rubs against the WC particles which is resistant to
wear. Because WC particles are very hard, they dont get eroded easily and the WC balls
13

12

surface is unable to make contact with the new boundary layer of the matrix of the clad
layer. Thus the penetration depth remains steady or constant over a period of time as seen
in the graph. Slowly when the WC particles are eroded by continuous rubbing, the matrix
again comes in contact with the WC ball surface & the penetration depth again begins to
increase.
Average penetration depth for all samples was calculated and comparatively tabulated
below

Average Penetration Depth (m)

Average Penetration Depth

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
sample 1

sample 2

sample 3

sample 5

sample 6

Samples

Friction Coefficient of the samples were found to vary from 0.07 to 0.36

Average Friction Coefficient

0.4

Friction Coefficient

0.35
0.3

0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Sample1

Sample2

Sample3

Sample5

Sample6

Samples

Higher values of average friction coefficient corresponding to higher values of average

penetration depth is consistent from the above bars (except for sample 6)
14

2. Average friction coefficient for all the samples (WC and Clad layer) was 0.163 while the
coefficient of sliding friction(dry) between Tungsten Carbide(ball) and mild steel(bare
base metal) is around 0.4-0.6.
Recommendations
From the results of the experiment it can be concluded that
Laser cladding is an effective heat treatment method for the enhancement of
mechanical properties including micro-hardness and wear-resistance.
The results indicated that tungsten carbide WC and Diamalloy-2001 increased
the micro-hardness and the wear resistance properties of the laser cladded
coating.
The average coefficient of friction of the clad layers increased over a period of
time as the coating gets eroded by wear and tear.

15

References:
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Laser Cladding. Parth Gattani, Barun Haldar, Adil Azeem and Partha Saha.
2. Wen FuYang, BSc. (Eng.) (Taiyuan University of Technology, China) , Laser Cladding
Surface Treatment For Enhancement of Mechanical Properties
3. P.K. Farayibi, T.E. Abioye, J.W. Murray, P.K. Kinnell, A.T. Clare, Surface
improvement of laser clad Ti6Al4V using plain waterjet and pulsed electron
beam irradiation. Journal of Materials Processing Technology
4. Y.Q. Yang and H.C. Man (2000), Surface Coating Technology, Vol.130 (6), pp.132
5. M.F. Schneider, March 1998, Laser cladding, Ph.D. Thesis University of Twente,
Enschede, The Netherlands.
6. M Zhong* and W Liu (June, 2009), Laser surface cladding: the state of the art and
challenges.
7. Fei Weng, Chuanzhong Chen, Huijun Yu, Fei Weng, Shandong University, Research
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58(2014) 412-425
8. J. Kusinski, s.kac, a.kopia, a.radziszewska, m.rozmus-grnikowska,b. Major, l. Major, j.
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