Microstructure and wear resistance of laser clad Ti5Si3/NiTi2 intermetallic composite coating on titanium alloy

A wear resistant Ti5Si3/NiTi2 intermetallic composite coating was fabricated on substrate of a titanium alloy BT9 by laser cladding with (wt.%) Ni–30Ti–10Si elemental powder blends. The laser clad intermetallic composite coating has a rapidly solidified fine microstructure consisting of Ti5Si3 primary particles uniformly distributed in the NiTi2 matrix and is metallurgically bonded to the titanium substrate. The laser clad Ti5Si3/NiTi2 intermetallic composite coating has high hardness and excellent wear resistance under dry sliding wear test conditions. The excellent wear resistance of the laser clad Ti5Si3/NiTi2 intermetallic composite coating is attributed to the coatingʹs high hardness, strong intermetallic atomic bonding and refined microstructure.