Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99

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Optics & Laser Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/optlastec

Effect of the scanning speed on microstructural evolution and wear

behaviors of laser cladding NiCrBSi composite coatings
J.L. Chen, J. Li n, R. Song, L.L. Bai, J.Z. Shao, C.C. Qu
School of Materials Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Laser cladding composite coatings were fabricated on the surface of the Ti6Al4V substrate by fiber laser
Received 16 November 2014 cladding the NiCrBSi alloy powder. The influences of scanning speed on the dilution rate and micro-
Received in revised form structure of the coatings were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM)
12 March 2015
and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Combined
Accepted 31 March 2015
Available online 17 April 2015
with the analyses of microhardness and fracture toughness, the wear behaviors of the coatings obtained
at different scanning speeds were revealed. Results indicated that the dilution rates of the coatings were
Keywords: similar (about 64.23%) with variations in scanning speed ranging from 5 mm/s to 15 mm/s. An abrupt
Laser cladding decrease in dilution rate (37.06%) was observed at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s. Microstructural
Microstructure
observation showed that the blocky TiB2 and the cellular dendrite TiC particles were uniformly dispersed
Wear resistance
in the TiNi–Ti2Ni dual-phase intermetallic compound matrix at scanning speeds of 5–15 mm/s. When the
scanning speed was further increased to 20 mm/s, the stripe-shaped CrB, gray irregular-shaped Cr3C2 and
black blocky TiC particles uniformly dispersed in the γ(Ni) matrix were synthesized in situ. The particles
became finer with the increase in scanning speed. The average microhardness of the coating
(1026.5 HV0.2) at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s was enhanced significantly compared with that of the
other three coatings (about 886.4 HV0.2). The lowest average friction coefficient (about 0.371) was
obtained at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s and was relatively stable with the change in sliding time. The
lowest wear loss of the coating was also obtained at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s. Analyses of the worn
surfaces showed that the coating prepared at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s was in good condition
because of its excellent combination of resistance to micro-cutting and brittle debonding. Comparatively
speaking, the coating produced at the scanning speed of 20 mm/s possessed excellent comprehensive
mechanical properties.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Titanium alloys are used extensively in numerous industrial fields
because of their excellent physical and chemical characteristics, such
as superior ratio of strength and modulus and high corrosion resis-
tance [1]. However, further application of titanium alloys is limited
by their poor abrasion resistance [2]. Surface modification techniques
are applied to improve the surface structure and properties of tita-
nium alloys by changing their surface compositions [3]. Among all
the surface modification techniques, laser cladding particularly pre-
sents unique advantages in enhancing the tribological properties of
titanium alloys, such as limited heat-affected zone, small stress
deformation, low dilution rate and good metallurgical bonding
between the coating and the substrate [4–7]. Tian et al. [8] produced
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 86 21 67791198; fax: þ 86 21 67791377.
E-mail address: jacob_lijun@sina.com (J. Li).
a coating containing stick borides (TiB and TiB2) on Ti6Al4V by laser
cladding the powder mixtures of boron and titanium. The results
showed that the coating presented higher hardness (the highest
value of about 1400 HV0.1) and better wear resistance than the ori-
ginal sample. Guo et al. [9] in situ synthesized TiB2/TiN/TiC compo-
site coatings on Ti substrate with pre-placed B, BN and B4C powders
by laser cladding. The three types of coatings were found to present
higher microhardness and better wear resistance than the pure Ti
substrate. The highest microhardness values of the three kinds of
coatings (pre-placed B, BN and B4C) were 1800, 950 and 800 HV0.1,
respectively, which were higher than that of pure Ti substrate (about
200 HV0.1). The wear volumes of the three coatings were approxi-
mately 0.30, 0.36, and 0.52 mm3, which were lower than that of pure
Ti substrate (about 0.82 mm3) under the normal load of 15 N. Kulka
et al. [10] applied amorphous boron to produce composite coatings
on commercially pure titanium by laser cladding. The microhardness
of the composite coatings reached up to 1250 HV0.1–1650 HV0.1. In

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2015.03.015
0030-3992/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99
addition, the coatings presented better wear resistance than the
commercially pure titanium. The wear losses of the coatings pro-
duced at laser powers of 1.56 and 1.95 kW after 4 h of wear testing
were lower than a third from that of pure titanium. Makuch et al.
[11] carried out a similar study in which three types of composite
coatings reinforced by hard ceramic phases (TiBþ TiB2, TiBþ
TiB2 þTiC, and TiC) were produced on commercially pure titanium.
The highest microhardness values of the three types of composite
coatings were at least five times higher than that of the commer-
cially pure titanium. The wear loss of the coating reinforced by TiC
produced at 1.95 kW laser power was approximately 18.8% that of
pure titanium, and the wear losses of the coatings reinforced by
TiBþ TiB2 and TiBþTiB2 þTiC were 25% and 81.3% that of pure tita-
nium at 1.56 kW, respectively. The aforementioned studies illustrated
that the hardness and wear resistance of titanium alloys can be
remarkably enhanced by laser cladding.
Among all the laser cladding materials, Ni-based alloys have
been widely used because of their good characteristics, such as
high hardness, good wear resistance and excellent corrosion
resistance [12,13]. Li et al. [14] successfully fabricated a composite
coating reinforced by in situ synthesis of TiB2 and TiC particles by
laser cladding Ni-based powder onto Ti6Al4V alloy. The average
microhardness of the coating was 700 HV0.2, higher than that of
the substrate because of the dispersion strengthening of the
reinforcements. Yu et al. [15] investigated a composite coating
reinforced by in situ synthesized TaC particles dispersed in the γ
(Ni) matrix. The experiments showed that the microhardness and
abrasive wear resistance of the laser-clad NiCrBSi coating
improved. Sun et al. [16] produced TiC–NiCrBSi composite coatings
that exhibited excellent wear resistance in atmospheric and in
vacuum conditions by laser cladding. They found that the wear
weight loss of the laser-clad coatings was 11.4% as that of Ti6Al4V
alloys in atmosphere and 47.9% in vacuum.
Laser cladding parameters, including output power, scanning
speed, feeding rate and gas flow rate, have significant impact on the
coating properties [17–20]. Numerous research works had been
carried out in terms of scanning speed. Wang et al. [21] found that
the size of columnar dendrite in the coating produced by laser
cladding at a higher scanning speed of 12 mm/s was reduced com-
pared with that resulting from a scanning speed of 6 mm/s. Li et al.
[22] reported that the dendrites became finer when the scanning
speed was increased from 4 m/min to 5 m/min. Amorphous phases
were observed at the scanning speed of 6 m/min. The fraction
volume of the amorphous phases became increasingly large when
the scanning speed was further increased from 7 m/min to 9 m/min.
Qiu et al. [23] also found that the microstructure of the coating
became small and uniform. The microhardness, wear resistance and
corrosion resistance also increased with increasing scanning speed.
These studies suggested that refinement in microstructure sig-
nificantly impacts the mechanical properties of coatings. Aside from
microstructural fineness, the change in phase constituents of the
coating may be another significant factor that affects mechanical
properties. The chemical compositions in the melting pool may be
changed because of dilution change from the substrate at different
scanning speeds, which further influences the phase constituents.
Hemmati et al. [24] investigated the effect of scanning speed on the
phase constituents and properties of laser-deposited coatings pro-
duced on AISI 431 stainless steel. The investigation showed that
significant refinement of dendritic structure stabilized the parent
austenite phase and reduced the volume fraction of the martensite
phase in the coatings at higher scanning speeds, resulting in
reduction and increase in hardness and wear rate, respectively.
For the Ni-based alloy coating produced on titanium alloy sub-
strate, the main element Ti obtained from melting the substrate
often participates in the formation of the phases. For example, the
reinforcements (TiB2, TiB and TiC) were in situ synthesized by
87
reactions between titanium and Ni-based alloy as mentioned pre-
viously. Hence, the phase constituents of the coating are severely
affected by dilution from the substrate because of the change in
scanning speed. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the coating
will be also affected. However, detailed studies regarding the chan-
ges in microstructure and mechanical properties resulting from the
difference in scanning speed are few.
In the present study, Ni-based coatings were fabricated on the
Ti6Al4V substrate by laser cladding. The effect of scanning speed
on dilution rate was investigated, and the microstructural evolu-
tion was revealed in detail. Combined with microhardness and
fracture toughness analyses, wear behaviors and mechanisms of
the coatings produced at different scanning speeds were com-
prehensively investigated.
2. Experimental details
The substrate material used in the experiment was the Ti6Al4V
alloy, with chemical composition of 6.5 wt% Al, 4.26 wt% V and Ti
balance, which was machined into the cylinder with dimensions of
⌀50 mm  10 mm. Prior to laser cladding, the cladding surfaces of
the specimens were polished with 150-grit silicon carbide water-
proof abrasive paper and washed in a SK3300H type ultrasonic
bath with ethanol under working frequency of 53 kHz. The
Ni-based alloy powder, which contained a conventional chemical
composition of 76 wt% Ni, 16 wt% Cr, 4 wt% B and 4 wt% Si, was
employed as cladding material. The powder was baked in the oven
at 80 °C for 3 min. The pre-placed layer was produced by adhesion
method, which included two steps, namely, mixing the binder and
the powder, and placing the mixture on the substrate surface to
form the pre-placed layer. A substantial amount of the organic
adhesive used in the method may deteriorate the mechanical
properties of the coating. In addition, the microstructural repro-
ducibility of the coating is difficult to control because of the
uncertainty in the pre-placed layer thickness. A new method of
producing the pre-placed layer was used to solve the two dis-
advantages. First, the organic adhesive (4% polyvinyl alcohol) was
evenly coated on the cladding surface of the substrate with a
brush. The Ti6Al4V substrate was placed in the ring model with a
dimension of ⌀50.2 mm  10.8 mm, forming a space with a precise
thickness of 0.8 mm. The powder was then packed in the space to
form a layer with an initial thickness of 0.8 mm, as shown in Fig. 1.
To reduce the porosity, the layer was compacted with 30 MPa
pressure for 3 min by a BJ-21 type powder pressing machine.
Laser cladding experiments were performed using an YLS-5000
fiber laser processing system connected to a computer for numerical
controlling. The laser cladding parameters were as follows: output
power, 3 kW; beam diameter, 6 mm; and the scanning speed,
5–20 mm/s. The coatings produced at scanning speeds of 5, 10, 15
and 20 mm/s were denoted as coatings I, II, III and IV, respectively.
Fig. 1. The schematic drawing of pre-preparing the layer with precise thickness.
88 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99

The phase constituents of the coatings were identified by a

Rigaku D/mas 2550 X-ray diffractometer with Cu Kα radiation.
Samples for microstructure observation were prepared and then
etched in the mixture composed of 6 mL of HNO3, 6 drops of
HF and 4 mL of H2O. Microstructure was characterized on a
VHX-600K optical microscope (OM) and an S-3400 scanning
electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a GENESIS EDAX energy
dispersive spectroscope (EDS).
Microhardness distribution along the depth direction of the
coatings was measured using a HXD-1000TM microhardness tester
with a load of 200 gf and a dwell time of 15 s. Fracture toughness of
the coatings was tested to evaluate cracking susceptibility by the Fig. 3. The schematic drawing of the wear test.

Vickers indentation method. This method was initially developed by

Evans and Wilshaw [25] to evaluate the fracture toughness of brittle
ceramics, such as carbides, nitrides, borides and oxides. Considering
that the laser cladding coating reinforced by a large number of
ceramic reinforcements possessed hard and brittle characteristics,
the method was also adopted to evaluate fracture toughness of the
laser cladding coating in previous studies [26–28]. Vickers indenta-
tions were produced using a HV-120 Vickers hardness tester. A 3 kgf
load was applied for 15 s as suggested in Ref. [29]. The cracks pro-
duced at the corners of the indentation were observed and measured
using OM, as shown in Fig. 2. Fracture toughness of the coatings was
calculated by the following equation [26]:

KIC = 0. 079P /a3/2 log(4.5a/c) for 0.6 ≤ c /a ≤ 4.5 (1)

where KIC is fracture toughness (MPa m1/2), P is the applied load

(N), a is the half-length of the diagonal line in an indentation (m),
and c is the half-length of cracks (m).
Dry sliding friction tests were carried out on a CFT-I ultra-func-
tional friction and wear testing machine to evaluate the wear prop-
erties of the coatings with an applied load of 20 N, sliding speed of
5 m/min and sliding time of 1800 s at room temperature. Prior to
testing, the surfaces of the coatings were polished with 300-grit
silicon carbide waterproof abrasive papers. The ⌀4 mm ZrO2 balls
were used as counterparts. The schematic of the ball-on-disk mode is
shown in Fig. 3. Friction coefficients (μ) were continuously recorded
with the change in sliding time by a connected computer. After the
friction tests, the specimens were washed in an ultrasonic bath to
remove the debris. Wear masses were weighed using a photoelectric
balance with an accuracy of 0.01 mg. Surface profiles across wear
tracks and wear volumes were measured using a surface contour
displacement transducer. Worn surfaces were observed by SEM.
Fig. 2. The schematic drawing of the fracture toughness (KIC) test.
Fig. 4. X-ray diffraction pattern of original NiCrBSi powder.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. XRD analyses
The X-ray diffraction results of original NiCrBSi powder and the
coatings are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. It can be seen that
original NiCrBSi powder mainly consists of γ(Ni) as the matrix and
some intermetallic compounds as the reinforcements (Ni3B, CrB,
Cr2B, Cr3C2 and Cr23C6). The diffraction patterns of coatings I, II and
III are highly similar, indicating similar phase constituents. The
indexed results of the diffraction peaks in terms of JCPDS standard
cards (no. 65-7711 for TiNi, no. 18-0898 for Ti2Ni, no. 65-8698 for
TiB2 and no. 65-0971 for TiC) are shown in Table 1. The three lines
with the strongest intensities of four phases are in good agree-
ment with those in JCPDS. Therefore, the phase constituents of
coatings I, II and III mainly consist of TiNi, Ti2Ni, TiB2 and TiC
respectively. Among these constituents, TiNi–Ti2Ni exists as the
dual-phase intermetallic matrix, in which TiC and TiB2 particles
are embedded as ceramic reinforcements. The phase constituents
of coatings I, II and III are completely different from that of original
NiCrBSi powder. All of the phases in three coatings contain tita-
nium, indicating that the substrate material has a dominant
influence on the phase constituents of the coatings. The diffraction
pattern of coating IV when the scanning speed is further increased
to 20 mm/s is shown in Fig. 5(d). The indexed results of the dif-
fraction peaks in terms of JCPDS standard cards (no. 65-0380 for γ
(Ni), no. 65-0897 for Cr3C2, no. 65-0413 for CrB and no. 65-0971 for
TiC) are shown in Table 2. The table indicates that coating IV is
mainly composed of γ(Ni), Cr3C2, CrB and TiC, which are evi-
dently different from those of coatings I, II and III. The matrix is
transformed from TiNi–Ti2Ni dual-phase intermetallic compounds
 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99 89

Fig. 5. X-ray diffraction patterns of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.

Table 1
XRD data for coating I, II, and III.

Experimental data d (nm) TiNi no. 65-7711 Ti2Ni no. 18-0898 TiB2 no. 65-8698 TiC no. 65-0971
d (nm) d (nm) d (nm) d (nm)
I (5 mm/s) II (10 mm/s) III (15 mm/s)

2.6213 2.6172 2.6293 – – 2.62936 –

2.4674 2.4674 2.4639 – – – 2.49999
2.2694 2.2737 2.2785 – 2.3023 – –
2.1659 2.1699 2.1769 – 2.171x – 2.165x
2.1336 2.1319 2.1390 2.1319x – – –
2.0379 2.0589 2.0451 – – 2.0411x –
1.9934 2.0014 2.0014 – 1.9943 – –
1.5295 1.5307 1.5267 – – – 1.53095
1.5069 1.5077 1.5130 1.50751 – 1.5182 –
1.3788 1.3778 1.3928 – – 1.37861 –
1.3290 1.3342 1.3326 – 1.3293 – –
1.2955 1.3082 1.2910 – – – 1.30552
1.2306 1.2312 1.2350 1.23092 – – –
1.1330 1.1361 1.1385 – 1.1333 – –

Note: d-interphanar spacing; x subscript of d stands for 100%, 6 stands for 60%, etc.
90 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99

into γ(Ni) solid solution. For the reinforcements, in addition to TiC, improved the wetting property of the alloy powder. The melted
Cr3C2 and CrB as new ceramic reinforcements are also found; powder can easily spread on the surface of the substrate during
however, TiB2 disappeared in the coating. The phase constituents cladding; hence, good quality of macroscopic surfaces of the coatings
of coating IV are very similar with that of original NiCrBSi powder, is obtained. The widths of the coatings are uniform and decreased
γ(Ni) solid solution exists as the matrix, the reinforcements from 11 mm to 7 mm with increase in scanning speed from 5 mm/s
include the boride and carbide containing chromium. However, to 20 mm/s. Higher scanning speed indicates shorter interaction
Ni3B is disappeared and the new TiC phase is formed in coating IV. time between the laser beam and the cladding material. Therefore,
The disappearance of Ni3B is attributed to rapid cooling of melting the cladding material absorbs less energy in per unit time to form a
pool during laser cladding, boron exists in γ(Ni) solid solution with narrower track [30].
a supersaturated state. The formation of TiC is attributed to Ti from Macro morphologies of the cross sections of the coatings are
the melting substrate during laser cladding. Coating IV is rich in shown in Fig. 7. Good metallurgical bonding formed between the
the compositions of the cladding material NiCrBSi, indicating that coatings and the substrate. The scanning speed had significant
the cladding material is predominant in melting pool and the
influence on the macro- profiles of the coatings. Dilution rate is a
substrate material has weak influence on the phase constituents of
main factor to assess the quality of the cladding coating. According to
the coating.
the actual shapes of the cross sections of the coatings, the coatings
can be classified into two groups to accurately calculate dilution rate
3.2. Macroscopic morphologies and dilution rates
(Fig. 7). Ideal models are illustrated in Fig. 8. The profile of coatings II
and III can be divided into two parts, including a part of a circle and a
Macroscopic surfaces of the coatings prepared at different scan-
ning speeds (5, 10, 15 and 20 mm/s) are shown in Fig. 6. The figure trapezium [Fig. 8(a)]. The profiles of coatings I and IV can be regar-
indicates that the cladding material was melted sufficiently and ded as the combination of two parts of two circles with different
complete, continuous coatings were formed. The surfaces of the radii [Fig. 8(b)]. H signifies the height of the coating above the sub-
coatings are comparatively smooth and free from cracks and pores. strate surface (mm), whereas h is the fusion depth of the substrate
The Ni-based alloy possessed self-fluxing capabilities caused by the (mm). W and W1 are the maximum width of the coating and width
addition of B and Si, which decreased the melting temperature and of the top of the coating (mm), respectively. S1 is the area of the
fusion zone of the substrate and S2 is the area of the coating above
Table 2 the surface of the substrate (mm2). For convenience, a geometric
XRD data for coating IV. relation in Fig. 8(c) is established to calculate S1. The center coordi-
nate of circle C is (0, R h); hence, the equation of circle C can be
Experimental data γ(Ni) no. 65- Cr3C2 no. 65- CrB no. 65- TiC no. 65-
IV (20 mm/s) 0380 0897 0413 0971 expressed as follows:
d (nm) d (nm) d (nm) d (nm) d (nm)
x2 + [y − (R − h)]2 = R2 (2)
2.4857 – – – 2.49999
2.3543 – – 2.35249 – where
2.1551 – – – 2.165x
2.1373 – 2.14486 – – R = (W 2/4 + h2)/2h (3)
2.0646 2.0409x 2.0737x – –
2.0254 – – 2.0203x – According sin law, sin α can be expressed as follows:
1.9839 – 2.00425 – –
1.9530 – – 1.96858 – sin α = W /2R = Wh/(h2 + W 2/4) (4)
1.7921 1.76754 1.79353 – –
1.6410 – – 1.63483 – Therefore, α can be calculated by
1.5254 – – – 1.53095
1.4657 – 1.46639 – –
α = arcsin ⎡⎣Wh/(h2 + W 2/4) ⎤⎦ (5)
1.3028 – – – 1.30552
1.2646 1.24982 – 1.25822 –
1.1758 – 1.17442 1.17652 – According to Eqs. (2)–(5) and applying the formula of geo-
metric area relationships, S1 can be calculated as follows:

S1 = ⎡⎣ (W 2/4 + h2)/2h⎤⎦ arcsin ⎡⎣Wh/(h2 + W 2/4) ⎤⎦

2

− ⎡⎣W (W 2/4 − h2) ⎤⎦/4h (6)

For coatings I and IV, S2 can be calculated as follows:

S2 = ⎡⎣ (W 2/4 + H 2)/2H ⎤⎦ arcsin ⎡⎣WH /(H 2 + W 2/4) ⎤⎦

2

− ⎡⎣W (W 2/4 − H 2) ⎤⎦/4H (7)

For coatings II and III, S2 can be calculated according to the

calculation formula of the trapezium area as follows:
S2 = (W1 + W ) H /2 (8)

Dilution η can be formulated as follows [4]:

η = [S1/(S1 + S2 )] × 100% = 1/(1 + S2/S1) × 100% (9)

According to Eqs. (6)–(9), the corresponding results of dilution

Fig. 6. Macroscopic morphologies of the coatings’ surfaces, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/ rates are listed in Table 3. The dilution rates of coatings I, II and III
s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s. are similar at 62.47%, 65.45% and 64.78%, respectively. The dilution
 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99 91

Fig. 7. Macroscopic morphologies of the cross sections of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.

Fig. 8. The schematic drawings of the simplified profile of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s and 20 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s and 15 mm/s, and (c) the geometric relation among S1,
W and h.

Table 3
Calculated results of the dilution rates of the coatings.

Coatings h (mm) H (mm) W (mm) W1 (mm) S1 (mm2) S2 (mm2) S2/S1 η (%)

I (5 mm/s) 1.91 1.19 7.11 – 9.56 5.74 0.60 62.47

II (10 mm/s) 1.17 0.65 5.91 1.80 4.74 2.50 0.53 65.45
III (15 mm/s) 1.10 0.49 5.78 3.98 4.35 2.36 0.54 64.78
IV (20 mm/s) 0.64 1.06 5.26 – 2.24 3.81 1.70 37.06
92 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99

rate of coating IV is 37.06%, which is far lower than those of
coatings I, II and III.
The abnormal atmosphere may be related to the measurement
errors of area S2 in coatings II and III. In theory, the surfaces of the
coatings should present the convex shape due to the surface tension
effect. However, laser cladding is an extremely complicated physical
metallurgical process, which leads to inconsistency in whole surface
morphologies of four coatings (shown in Fig. 6). Some surfaces may
present the convex shape, the other surfaces may be horizontal.
Coincidentally, two comparatively horizontal surfaces in this study are
selected to calculate the dilution rates of coatings II and III. Obviously,
the measurement area (S2) is small when compared with that of the
convex surface, resulting in comparatively high dilution rate. As a
result, the dilution rate does not present a strict downward trend with
the increase in scanning speed (5 mm/s, 10 mm/s, and 15 mm/s).
When the scanning speed is increased to 20 mm/s, the dramatic
reduction in dilution rate seems very abnormal. The surfaces of
coatings II and III are supposed to be the convex shape, their dilution
rates are recalculated by fitting the surfaces of coatings. As shown in
Table 4, the dilution rate is gradually reduced with the increase in
scanning speed (5 mm/s, 10 mm/s, and 15 mm/s), which is consistent
with the previous studies [31,32]. However, it can be found that the
dilution rate of coating IV is still significantly lower that of the other
coatings. It may be related to the second growth of the molten pool.
The dilution process can be described by two typical routes, as
shown in Fig. 9. When the pre-placed layer is radiated by the laser
beam, the pre-placed layer (part 1) absorbs a part of energy and is
melted (shown in Fig. 9(a)). The other part of energy will be applied
to the substrate surface, resulting in the melting of a portion of
substrate surface (part 2) (shown in Fig. 9(b)). Parts 1 and 2 are
mixed and form the molten pool (shown in Fig. 9(c)). The dilution
rate at this point is called the initial dilution rate. During the sub-
sequent solidification, some phases will be precipitated from the
molten pool by the exothermic or endothermic reactions, coupled

Table 4
Calculated results of the dilution rates of the coatings after fitting the surfaces of the coatings.

Coatings h (mm) H (mm) W (mm) S1 (mm2) S2 (mm2) S2/S1 η (%)

I (5 mm/s) 1.91 1.19 7.11 9.56 5.74 0.60 62.47

II (10 mm/s) 1.17 0.90 5.91 4.74 3.58 0.76 56.98
III (15 mm/s) 1.10 0.74 5.78 4.35 3.69 0.85 54.07
IV (20 mm/s) 0.64 1.06 5.26 2.24 3.81 1.70 37.06

Fig. 9. The schematic drawing of the dilution process.

 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99
with the release or absorption in energy. The input of the extra
energy (the sum of the released and absorbed energy) will change
the energy state at the contacting interfaces between the molten
pool and the pre-placed layer/substrate. As a result, the shaped of the
molten pool may present different changes along two routes. When
the speed of energy accumulation at the contacting interfaces is
higher that of energy loss (by the heat conduction of the pre-placed
layer and the substrate), the energy will accumulate at the contacting
interfaces and may result in the second melting of the pre-placed
layer (part 3) and the substrate (part 4) (shown in Fig. 9(d)). In this
case (route 1), the melting part of the pre-placed layer is the sum of
parts 1 and 3, it includes parts 2 and 4 for the substrate. The spot
diameter of laser beam and the thickness of the pre-placed layer are
precisely controlled in 6 mm and 0.8 mm, respectively. The projected
area of interface between the molten pool and the substrate on the
initial substrate surface (A3, about 9 π mm2) is larger than the con-
tacting area between the molten pool and the pre-placed layer (A1,
about 4.8 π mm2), indicating that the actual area of the former (A2)
is much larger than the contacting area of the latter (A1). It can be
inferred that the second melting area of the substrate (part 4) is
much larger than that of the pre-placed layer (part 3) in this case.
The final dilution rate is also larger than the initial dilution rate
(shown in Fig. 9(e)). In the other case (route 2), the pre-placed layer
and the substrate will be not melted secondly and the final melting
parts for them are only parts 1 and 2, indicating that the final dilute
rate is similarly equal to the initial dilution rate (shown in Fig. 9(f)).
Based on the above analysis, it can be concluded that the
dilution rate mainly depends on the energy from the laser beam
applied to pre-placed layer during laser cladding. The output
energy will directly affect the initial dilution rate, which affects the
chemical compositions in the molten pool again. The difference in
released heat resulting from the difference in chemical reaction
type and number can change the energy state at the contacting
interfaces between the molten pool and the pre-placed layer/
substrate. The pre-placed layer and the substrate may be melted
secondly, which further cause the change in dilution rate.
The factors affecting the energy from the laser beam applied to
the pre-placed layer include the applied parameters (output power,
scanning speed, spot diameter), the nature and the thickness of the
pre-placed layer, the nature of the substrate. Among all factors
affecting the energy in this study, only the scanning speed is differ-
ent, corresponding to 5 mm/s, 10 mm/s, 15 mm/s and 20 mm/s.
If the coatings at four scanning speeds are formed by the same
route, the dilution rates for four coatings should present the reg-
ular change. However, that is not what happened. After careful
analysis about the data in Tables 3 and 4, it can be found that the
area of the fusion zone of the substrate (S1) is larger than that of
the coating above the surface of the substrate (S2) for coatings I, II,
III, with a ratio of about 0.53–0.85 (S2/S1). However, the value of S1
and S2 presents the opposite change in coating IV. S1 is much
lower than S2, with a ratio of about 1.70 (S2/S1). It results in the
abnormal change in dilution rate of coating IV since the dilution
rate depends on the value of S2/S1.
It can be reasonably concluded that coatings I, II, III may (only
may) be formed by route 1 and coating IV may be formed by route 2.
The change in maximum width of the coating (W) supports the
hypothesis. The spot diameter is precisely controlled in 6 mm and
the spot energy is in concordance with the Gauss distribution. The
maximum width (W) of the coating is usually lower than the spot
diameter (6 mm) since the energy on the beam spot edge is not high
enough to melt the pre-placed layer and the substrate. However, as
shown in Table 3, the maximum widths of coatings I, II and III are
7.11 mm, 5.91 mm and 5.78 mm respectively, approaching or even
exceeding 6 mm. the maximum width (5.26 mm) of coating IV is
substantially below 6 mm. It indicates that the pre-placed layer and
the substrate around the molten pool may be melted secondly at the
93
Fig. 10. The formation enthalpy at different temperatures for the reactions.
scanning speeds of 5 mm/s, 10 mm/s and 15 mm/s during laser
cladding. Moreover, the analysis results of phase constituents also
offer the evidence. Although the melting areas of the substrate
present a downward trend with the scanning speed increasing from
5 mm/s to 15 mm /s due to less absorbed energy per unit time by the
substrate, the adequate amounts of substrate is melted, which allows
the following reactions to occur in the molten pool:
For coatings I, II and III:
TiþNi ¼TiNi (10)
2Ti þNi¼ Ti2Ni (11)
Tiþ2B ¼TiB2 (12)
TiþC ¼ TiC (13)
When the scanning speed is increased to 20 mm/s, the absor-
bed energy per unit time by the substrate is further decreased. The
majority of applied energy is firstly used for the melting of the pre-
placed layer, the remainder is applied to the substrate, resulting in
the further decrease in content of Ti in the molten pool. As a result,
besides Reaction (13), the other reactions mainly occur among the
elements from cladding material (NiCrBSi). The following reactions
occur in coating IV:
TiþC ¼ TiC (13′)
CrþB ¼CrB (14)
3Cr þ2C ¼Cr3C2 (15)
θ
The changes in the formation enthalpy H T ( kJ mol  1) of above
reactions at different temperatures were calculated using the ther-
θ
modynamic data from [33]. As shown in Fig. 10, the values of H T for
all reactions are all negative in the entire temperature range, indi-
cating that a considerable amount of heat is released during the
θ
reactions. The values of H T are close for Reactions (10) and (11) in
coatings I, II and III, as well as 5 and 6 in coating IV, indicating that
the released heat coupled with the formation of per mole of the
phases (TiNi, Ti2Ni, CrB and Cr3C2) is similar. However, the volume
fractions of TiNi and Ti2Ni as the matrix in coatings I, II and III far
exceed those of CrB and Cr3C2 as reinforcements in coating IV.
Therefore, the released heat in coatings I, II and III far exceed that in
coating IV (as far as the four reactions are concerned). Reaction (13)
can occur not only in coatings I, II and III, but also in coating IV. The
released heat by Reaction (13) in four coatings is similar since the
volume fractions of TiC in four coatings are similar. However, strong
exothermic Reaction (12) only occurs in coatings I, II and III. It is clear
94 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99
that more extra heat will be generated in coatings I, II and III,
resulting in the further melting of the pre-placed layer and the
substrate (route 1). Comparatively speaking, less released heat in
coating IV may be not high enough to melt pre-placed layer and the
substrate (route 2). As analyzed above, the second melting area of
the substrate (part 4) far exceeds that of the pre-placed layer (part 3)
in route 1, resulting in the significant increase in dilution rate of
coatings I, II and III, when compared with coating IV.
3.3. Microstructure
The typical SEM overview of the cross sections from the coatings
is shown in Fig. 11. The microstructures of coatings I, II and III are
highly similar, with numerous blocky particles and cellular dendrites
as reinforcements uniformly dispersed in the matrix. The size of the
reinforcements gradually decreased with the increase in scanning
speed from 5 mm/s to 15 mm/s. When the scanning speed is
increased to 20 mm/s, the microstructure of the coating significantly
changed, as shown in Fig. 11(d). Reinforcements became finer and
their volume fractions significantly increased. In addition, the rein-
forcements also increased to three varieties, including stripe-shaped
phase, gray irregularly-shaped phase and black blocky phase uni-
formly scattered in the matrix. More details about the morphologies
of the different phases can be identified in the high-magnification
images (shown in Fig. 12). The SEM image of coating I is selected to
represent coatings II and III because of their similar morphology and
phase constituent of phases (shown in Fig. 12(a)). The matrix of
Fig. 11. Typical SEM micrographs of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s (b) 10 mm/s (c) 15 mm/s and (d) 20 mm/s.
Fig. 12. EDS spot analyses for the phases with different morphologies, (a) 5 mm/s, and (b) 20 mm/s.
coatings I, II and III comprise dendrite (S1) and interdendritic phases
(S2). The chemical compositions of the phases with different
morphologies were identified by EDS spot analyses, as shown in
Fig. 12 and Table 5. The dendrite phase (S1) can be recognized as
TiNi, which is ascribed to the mole ratio of Ti and Ni (1 : 1). The
interdendritic phase (S2) rich in Ti, Ni and Cr can be considered as
(Ti, Cr)2Ni solid solution. Considering that the atomic radius of Cr
(1.85 Å) is closer to that of Ti (2.00 Å), several Ti atoms in Ti2Ni are
substituted by Cr atoms, resulting in the formation of (Ti, Cr)2Ni solid
solution. TiNi–Ti2Ni dual-phase intermetallic alloys exhibited
high yield strength and wear resistance due to the excellent com-
bination of TiNi alloy's special ductility behavior and Ti2Ni inter-
metallic alloy's high hardness. The synthesis of TiNi by the laser
technique (laser sintering) was reported by Gureev et al. [34] at the
first time. TiNi was successfully prepared by optimizing the pro-
cessing parameters, under which the reaction of self-propagating
high-temperature synthesis (SHS) proceeds in controlled regime.
Kuznetsov et al. [35] also prepared TiNi 3D functional materials by
the similar laser technique (laser-induced combustion synthesis).
Yerramareddy et al. [36] firstly produced Ti2Ni on the Ti6Al4V sub-
strate by laser nickel alloying. The results indicated that the for-
mation of Ti2Ni can significantly improve the dry sliding wear
resistance of Ti6Al4V. Wang et al. [37] fabricated the composited
coating reinforced by in situ synthesized Ti2Ni on AZ91HP Mg alloy
by laser cladding Ti70.3Ni22.2Al7.5 (at%) alloy powder. The coating
mainly consisted of β(Ti) solid solution and Ti2Ni intermetallic
compound resulting in high hardness, good wear resistance and
 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99 95

Table 5
EDS analyses results of the coatings.

Phases Composition (at%)

Ti Ni Cr B C

S1 (dendrite phase) 44.60 49.07 4.23 – 2.10

S2 (interdendritic phase) 48.47 31.93 17.44 – 2.16
S3(blocky phase) 11.62 – 0.27 73.61 14.50
S4(cellular dendrite phase) 64.26 – – – 35.74
S5 (dendrite phase) 13.30 77.96 5.32 – 3.42
S6 (stripe-shaped phase) 2.36 11.25 9.17 76.56 0.66
S7 (gray irregular-shaped phase) 1.09 – 14.90 64.35 19.66
S8(black blocky phase) 49.85 – – – 50.15

corrosion resistance. Feng et al. [7] prepared the TiNi–Ti2Ni inter-

metallic matrix composite coating on the Ti6.5Al2Zr1Mo1V sub-
strate by laser cladding using Ni–Ti–B4C powder blends as the raw
materials. The coating exhibited an excellent wear resistance
because of combined action of hard TiB–TiC eutectic ceramic rein-
forcements and ductile TiNi–Ti2Ni dual-phase intermetallic matrix.
Gao et al. [38–40] fabricated short cylinder-shape ingots of
Ti2Ni/TiNi alloy with commercial pure Ti–Ni elemental powder
blends as the raw material by the laser melting deposition. The
results showed that abrasive wear resistance of the Ti2Ni/TiNi alloy
was evaluated, when compared with high-chromium cast-iron.
As shown in Fig. 12 and Table 5, the blocky phase (S3) is rich in Ti
and B, while the cellular dendrite phase (S4) is rich in Ti and C.
Considering the XRD results, the phases are identified as TiB2 and
TiC, respectively. The mole ratios of Ti to B and C were inconsistent
with the theoretical values (1:2 and 1:1), which may be attributed to
low measurement accuracy for boron and carbon as the light ele-
ments by EDS spot analyses. Characteristic X rays from the light
elements possess comparatively low energies. Moreover, these ele-
ments can also be strongly absorbed by the beryllium window of the Fig. 13. Microhardness profiles along the depth of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s
Si(Li) detector in EDS, reducing the testing sensitivity. Therefore, the (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.
precision of quantitatively analyses for light elements is compara-
tively low. However, this limitation does not prevent us from
drawing a conclusion that the blocky phase (S3) and the cel-
lular dendrite phase (S4) should respectively be a boride and a
carbide containing titanium. In past research works, the two phases
with similar morphological characteristics had been also in situ
synthesized by laser cladding. Meng et al. [41] produced composite
coatings on Ti6Al4V substrate with pre-placed B4C and NiCrBSi
powders by laser cladding. The blocky phase and the cellular den-
drite phase were identified as TiB2 and TiC by EDS, EPMA and XRD
analyses. Sun et al. [42] also in situ synthesized the two similar
phases on the Ti6Al4V substrate with pre-placed NiCrBSi powders
by laser cladding. The two similar phases were also determined as
TiB2 and TiC by XRD, SEM and TEM analyses. In this study, the XRD
results indicate that the titanium-rich carbide and boride are TiB2
and TiC. Therefore, it can be concluded that the blocky phase (S3) is
TiB2 and the cellular dendrite phase (S4) is TiC.
In terms of coating IV [Fig. 12(b)], the dendrite phase (S5) is
mainly composed of Ni, which can be confirmed as γ(Ni) solid
solution with 13.30 at% Ti, 5.32 at% Cr and 3.42 at% C dissolved. Fig. 14. Variation of friction coefficients of the coatings with the change in sliding
The stripe-shaped phase (S6) rich in B and Cr can be defined as a time, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.
boride containing chromium. Meng et al. [41] found a phase with
similar morphology uniformly dispersed in the coating, which was 3.4. Microhardness
identified as CrB. In addition, Li et al. [43] also in situ synthesized
the similar phase, which was also determined as CrB, by XRD, SEM Fig. 13 shows the microhardness profile along the depth of the
and TEM analyses. The XRD results further confirm that the strip- cross section of the coatings. Microhardness of coatings I, II and III
shaped phase (S6) is CrB. Similarly, the gray irregular-shaped fluctuates in the range between 794.4 and 1020.7 HV0.2 (1 H¼
phase (S7) can be identified as Cr3C2. The similar phase was also 1 kgf/mm2), which is higher than that of the substrate (343.6 HV0.2).
considered as Cr3C2 in past investigations [44–46]. The black The average microhardness of coatings I, II and III exhibits a slow
blocky phase (S8), which only contained Ti and C, can be regarded increase tendency (871.5, 885.7 and 903.0 HV0.2) with the increase in
as TiC. scanning speed, which can be mainly attributed to microstructural
96 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99

Fig. 15. The schematic drawings of wear process of the coating, (a) the initial surface morphology of all the coatings, and (b) the transformation of surface morphology
for the coating prepared at 20 mm/s during wear.

Table 6
Calculated results of fracture toughness of the coatings.

Coating Indentations a (μm) c (μm) KIC (MPa m1/2) Average value of KIC (MPa m1/2)

I (5 mm/s) a-1 40.61 61.91 4.22 4.54

a-2 41.01 56.00 4.58
a-3 41.00 52.77 4.81
II (10 mm/s) b-1 40.45 57.78 4.50 4.23
b-2 40.81 64.63 4.04
b-3 40.37 63.23 4.15
III (15 mm/s) c-1 41.14 55.62 4.60 4.49
c-2 40.70 58.77 4.42
c-3 41.28 57.86 4.44
IV (20 mm/s) Without cracks produced, KIC cannot be calculated.

fineness. Coating IV presented a higher microhardness varying from

875.6 HV0.2 to 1103.4 HV0.2 than the first three coatings when the
scanning speed is further increased to 20 mm/s. The average micro-
hardness is 1026.5 HV0.2, which is a 123.5 HV0.2 increase compared
with that of coating III. In addition to the formation of finer micro-
structure caused by the increase in supercooling degree, the other
important reason involves the increase in volume fraction of the
reinforcements in coating IV.

3.5. Wear resistance

The friction coefficient curves of the coatings varying with

sliding time are shown in Fig. 14. The average friction coefficients
from high to low are as follows: coating III (0.772), coating II
(0.771), coating I (0.548) and coating IV (0.371). Coating IV pos-
sesses the lowest friction coefficient, which also remains relatively
stable with the change in sliding time. The friction coefficients of
the other three coatings are high and present a fluctuating rising
Fig. 16. Surface profiles across the wear tracks of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s,
trend with the increase in sliding time. Comparatively, coating IV (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.
has a more outstanding wear resistance from the point of the
friction coefficient than that of the first three. The friction coeffi-
cient is an important parameter for the evaluation of wear resis- rough and uneven. Numerous tiny protruding portions were found
tance that can be influenced by numerous factors, such as applied
on the surfaces, as shown in Fig. 15(a). In the initial stage of sliding
load, sliding time, roughness of contact surfaces and friction pairs.
friction, the counterpart (ZrO2 ball) mainly collides with the pro-
Among these factors, the first three for the four coatings were
truding portions. The protruding portions of coating IV are prone
provided, and the ZrO2 ball was used as the counterpart. It can be
to plastic deformation because of its excellent plasticity and
concluded that the change regulation in friction coefficient should
toughness, which minimizes surface roughness [Fig. 15(b)]. The
be attributed to the difference in microstructure of the four coat-
ings. The main phase constituents of coating IV include γ(Ni), CrB, friction pairs fit more tightly at the contact surfaces, and the
Cr3C2 and TiC. Among these phases, γ(Ni), which possessed face- friction force is relatively small. Based on the formula μ ¼F/N, the
centered cubic structure (fcc), has excellent plasticity and tough- average friction coefficient μ of coating IV is low and stabilized
ness. However, the other three mainly consist of TiNi, Ti2Ni, TiB2 when the contact load is given. For the other three coatings, given
and TiC, which belong to intermetallic compounds with hard and their inherent hard and brittle characteristics, plastic deformation
brittle characteristics. The differences in phase constituent can is less likely to occur on the protruding portions; thus, a serious
affect the status of the contact surfaces between the friction pairs collision occurred between the friction pairs. Debris resulting from
during sliding friction. The initial surfaces of the coatings are the collision further deteriorates the status of the contacting
 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99 97

surfaces. As a result, the average friction coefficients of the three Table 7

coatings are relatively large and considerably fluctuate. Differences Calculated results of dissipated energy of the coatings at the corresponding dis-
tance intervals.
among these findings may be related to the change in volume
fraction and size of phases. The testing results of the average Dissipated energy at Coatings
fracture toughness, KIC, further confirm the above speculation, as every interval (J) I (5 mm/s) II (10 mm/s) III (15 mm/s) IV (20 mm/s)
shown in Table 6. The average values of KIC of coatings I, II and III
E1 56.73 74.48 87.20 46.04
are similar at 4.54, 4.23 and 4.49 MPa m1/2, respectively. The value E2 59.90 75.79 92.87 49.22
of coating containing IV cannot be precisely calculated because of E3 64.77 81.69 103.64 52.22
cracks produced at the four corners of the indentations of coating E4 69.72 86.16 110.68 51.20
IV are lacking. However, this finding may not preclude the con- E5 73.00 93.41 108.76 51.65
E6 75.51 99.63 107.27 51.31
clusion that the toughness of coating IV is better than that of the E7 77.06 105.37 111.39 55.53
first three. E8 82.35 111.43 114.69 54.47
The surface profiles across coating wear tracks are shown in E9 83.62 110.93 120.80 51.24
Fig. 16. The volume losses of the coatings vary in a decreasing E10 84.12 114.38 116.41 54.95
E11 85.69 117.80 115.25 53.98
sequence: coating III (0.5805 mm3), II (0.4129 mm3), I (0.3101 mm3)
E12 85.92 122.47 114.51 55.85
and coating IV (0.0252 mm3). The results of the mass losses of the E13 86.08 129.32 117.96 59.02
coatings present a similar law, as shown in Fig. 17. As can be clearly E14 87.43 131.85 121.47 60.45
seen, the wear loss of coating IV is considerably lower than those in E15 94.53 138.00 124.81 60.44
E16 91.64 137.00 127.26 58.69
the other three. This phenomenon can be attributed to excellent E17 93.71 143.15 126.18 60.72
mechanical properties (high hardness and fracture toughness). This E18 96.30 145.27 130.08 61.25
high hardness and fracture toughness endow coating IV with E19 98.21 147.22 132.47 61.86
excellent resistance to micro-cutting and brittle debonding, resulting E20 99.10 147.15 133.18 61.86
Total value of dis- 1645.40 2312.49 2316.86 1111.91
in low wear loss. The change regulation can also be interpreted in sipated energy (J)

detail from the point of the energy transformation. In essence,

wearing is a process of energy transformation. For laser cladding
coating with high hardness and brittleness, a small part of input
energy caused by friction work is converted into frictional heat and
elastic energy, but most of the input energy is applied to the con-
tacting surfaces, inducing plastic deformation, crack nucleation,
propagation and debris flaking [47]. Thus, the friction work, which is
the energy dissipation between the contacting surfaces, exhibits a
proportional relationship with wear loss.
The following equation can be expressed to evaluate the
cumulative energy dissipation [48]:
End of the int erval
Ed = ∫Begining of the int erval Ft dx (16)

where Ed stands for the cumulative energy dissipation at a parti-

Fig. 17. Wear mass loss of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, cular wear distance, dx is the incremental wear distance, and Ft is
and (d) 20 mm/s. the friction force, where friction force is defined by the following
equation:
Ft = μN (17)

where N is the normal load and μ is the friction coefficient.

Based on Fig. 14, changes in friction force of the coatings with wear
distance are presented in Fig. 18. The cumulative energy dissipation
during the entire sliding occurrence is represented by the area under
this curve, which can be divided into 20 appropriate intervals with
the same distance of 150 m. The Newton–Cotes method is convenient
in evaluating the integral than integrating the function over any
arbitrary interval by establishing the mathematical relation between
Ft and x. In this regard, cumulative energy dissipation can be defined
as the total sum of the areas of the 20 intervals:
n
Ed = ∑i Ei n = 1, 2, 3 …. (18)

The average value of friction force Fi is calculated every 7.5 m.

Therefore,
Ei = 7. 5Fi (19)

Fig. 18. The friction tangential force curves of the coatings with wear distance, According to Eqs. (16)–(19), the corresponding results of energy
(a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s. dissipation at every interval are listed in Table 7. The results of the
98 J.L. Chen et al. / Optics & Laser Technology 72 (2015) 86–99
Fig. 19. Typical wear morphologies of the coatings, (a) 5 mm/s, (b) 10 mm/s, (c) 15 mm/s, and (d) 20 mm/s.
cumulative energy dissipation of coatings IV, I, II and III are 1111.91,
1645.40, 2312.49 and 2316.86 J, respectively. The cumulative
energy dissipation of coating IV is the smallest, followed by coat-
ings I, II and III. This trend is similar to that of coating wear loss.
The typical wear morphologies of the coatings are shown in
Fig. 19. The worn surface morphology of coatings I, II and III are
relatively rough. Numerous plowing grooves are found along with the
sliding direction, uniformly distributed debris particles and white
scaly patterns. These grooves indicate that coatings I, II and III are
under severe wear caused by the joint role of micro-cutting and
brittle debonding during sliding friction. When the scanning speed is
increased to 20 mm/s, the worn surface of the coating becomes
smoother and free of debris. A small quantity of pits and several tiny
plowing grooves are visible. Although the wear mechanism of coating
IV also involves mixture of micro-cutting and brittle-debonding, the
wear degree is less severe compared with the other coatings. This
finding can also be attributed to the differences in mechanical prop-
erty as mentioned previously. Among the four coatings, coating IV,
which showed higher hardness and fracture toughness, possesses
excellent resistance to micro-cutting and brittle debonding.
4. Conclusion
1. The dilution rates of the coatings were similar (about 64.23%) at
a scanning speed that varies in the range of 5–15 mm/s. The
dilution rate of the coating was sharply reduced to 37.06%
when the scanning speed was further increased to 20 mm/s.
2. The coatings produced at scanning speeds of 5–15 mm/s were
mainly composed of the TiNi–Ti2Ni dual-phase intermetallic
compounds, in which blocky TiB2 and cellular dendrite TiC
particles were uniformly dispersed. When the scanning speed
is increased to 20 mm/s, the coating mainly consisted of γ(Ni)
as the matrix and the uniformly dispersed stripe-shaped CrB,
gray irregular-shaped Cr3C2 and black blocky TiC particles as
reinforcements. A scanning speed range of 5–15 mm/s had
minimal effects on the phase constituents of the coatings
because of the similar dilution rates. With further increase in
scanning speed to 20 mm/s, the phase constituents were
transformed from the phases rich in titanium into those rich in
elements from the cladding material NiCrBSi because of severe
reduction in dilution rate.
3. Compared with the other three coatings, the coating produced
at a scanning speed of 20 mm/s possessed a lower average
friction coefficient (about 0.371), and the change in friction
coefficient was more stable with the change in sliding time. The
coating also possessed the lowest wear loss (0.0252 mm3). The
wear mechanisms of all coatings involve a mixture of micro-
cutting and brittle debonding. The enhancement in plasticity
and toughness of the coating contributed to the improvement
in contact surface status. The excellent combination of resis-
tance to micro-cutting (high hardness) and brittle debonding
(high toughness) of the coating significantly reduced wear loss.
An appropriate increase in scanning speed (20 mm/s) resulted
in improved wear resistance of the coating.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (51471105), “Shu Guang” project of
Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai Education
Development Foundation (12SG44) and “Graduate Innovation”
project of Shanghai University of Engineering Science (14KY0501).
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