Tribology characteristics of in-situ laser deposition of Fe-TiC

In this paper, the effects of TiC morphology and TiC volume fraction on wear resistance of the laser deposited Fe-TiC were studied. In-situ Fe-TiC clad layers were deposited on an AISI 1030 steel substrate with a fiber laser using dynamic blow technique. Two laser conditions along with two atomic percent ratios, 45:55 and 55: 45, were selected for C:Ti, and Fe percentages were explored with 70, 60,50 and 10wt.%. Results showed that TiC morphology was affected by laser process parameters and powder composition. Optimum wear resistance was found among the samples by conducting wear tests with the ASTM G65-04, dry sand/rubber wheel, low-stress, coarse and abrasive (three-body) test methods. The abrasive characteristics of TiC were compared to WC-12wt.% Ni deposited on a similar substrate measured under identical test conditions. Results showed excellent wear resistance of in-situ TiC. The clad layer's abrasive wear resistance was a factor of 50–70 and 1.2 times higher than that of AISI 1030 steel and WC-12% Ni, respectively.