Effects of Cr content on microstructure and tribological properties of laser cladding Ti-based coatings.

Ti-Al-Si-SiC-Cr x (X = 0, 5, 10, 15) coatings were prepared on TC4 alloy by laser cladding, and their microstructure and tribological properties were investigated. The results reveal that the coatings consist of Ti 3 Al, TiC, Ti 5 Si 3 , and Ti 4 Cr phases. In room temperature friction, with the addition of Cr, Ti 4 Cr soft phase was formed in the coating, which reduced the three-body wear of the coating. However, an excess of Ti 4 Cr soft phase induces a reduction in the wear resistance of the coating. Under high temperature friction conditions, due to the addition of Cr, a super-hard amorphous oxide protective layer is formed on the wear surface to improve the wear resistance of the coating. Therefore, Ti-Al-Si-SiC-Cr 10 coating has the best tribological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]