In-situ synthesis of TiC particles on low carbon steel by using laser cladding technique

This paper describes the effect of laser parameters on the quality of an in-situ formed TiC-Fe based composite clad including titanium carbide morphology, distribution, and micro hardness of the clad. Pure Ti, graphite, and Iron with 325 mesh particle sizes were used for in-situ laser cladding in the Automatic Laser Fabrication (ALFa) Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Canada. In-situ laser cladding enables the formation of a uniform clad by melting the powder to form desired composition from pure powder components. Since TiC has desirable properties, such as hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, Ti and Graphite (C) are used as a composite material (i.e., TiC) to increase hardness and wear resistance of AISI 1030 carbon steel. In this research, the effects of laser parameters, such as laser power, scan speed and powder feeder rate, on clad characteristics were investigated. Results show that using optimum laser parameters a uniform clad that is free of cracks can be produced. The resulting clad also reveals strong metallurgical bonding with the substrate. XRD, SEM and EDS data show that TiC is formed during the laser cladding in the Iron matrix.