In this paper, an engine piston ring coating comprising composite material of Fe3Al and Cr3C2 mixed powder was prepared by laser cladding onto carbon structural steel. The microstructure and tribological properties of the cladding materials were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and wear tests. The influence mechanism of the Cr3C2 content in cladding powder was studied. During the process of wear, the soft Fe3Al/Fe2AlCr matrix is first ground off, and the hard Cr7C3 phase initially supports the abrasive surface before being worn away into hard particles, resulting in abrasive wear. With the increase in Cr3C2 content, the hardness of the cladding layer increases, the proportion of the Cr7C3 phase increases, and the morphology changes from a sparse network to a dense floccule. Of the cladding layers with different Cr3C2 content, the 15 wt.% Cr3C2 cladding layer had the lowest friction coefficient, and the 25 wt.% Cr3C2 cladding layer had the lowest wear rate. The low wear rate of the 25 wt.% Cr3C2 cladding layer can be attributed to the fact that adhesive wear does not easily occur and the fine microstructure of the strengthening phase, which facilitates better separation in the grinding surfaces.
In this paper, a brake cylinder coating comprising a composite material of an Fe3Al and Cr3C2 mixed powder was prepared by adding laser cladding onto carbon structural steel. We studied the influence of process parameters on the microstructure and tribological properties of the cladding materials using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and 3D white light interferometer and wear tests. The influence of different processes on the morphology of the carbide strengthening phase was found to be relatively small with a Cr3C2 content of 15 wt.%. The carbides mainly exhibited a network structure in each group of cladding layers. The area of the network strengthening phase varied under different processes. Of the cladding layers formed with different processes, the scanning speed of the 0.003 m/s cladding layer had the lowest wear rate. When the laser power was too low or the powder feed rate was too high, unmelted Cr3C2 particles could be found in the cladding layer. During the wear process, the particles peeled off, causing severe abrasive wear. When the powder feeding rate was too low, more materials in the base material entered the cladding layer. This made the composition of the cladding layer similar to that of the grinding material, resulting in severe adhesive wear.
In this paper, a brake cylinder coating comprising composite material of Fe3Al and Cr3C2 mixed powder was prepared by laser cladding onto carbon structural steel. The microstructure of the cladding materials was investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The influence mechanism of the Cr3C2 content and process parameters on crack generation of Fe3Al/Cr3C2 composites were studied. The crack is mainly caused by the mismatch between the plastic phase of Fe2AlCr, the brittle phase of Fe3Al, and Cr7C3 in the cladding layer. With the increase in Cr3C2 content, Fe2AlCr and Cr7C3 in the cladding layer increased, while Fe3Al decreased. When the content of Cr7C3 is low, the cladding layer mainly reflects the plastic increase brought by Fe2AlCr; when the content of Cr7C3 is too much, the property of the cladding layer is reflected as the brittleness of Cr7C3. The number of cracks reached the lowest value at 15 wt.%. The process parameters mainly affect the dilution rate of the cladding layer and thus affect the content of Fe2AlCr.