Microstructure and dry-sliding wear properties of TiC-reinforced composite coating prepared by plasma-transferred arc weld-surfacing process

A wear resistant TiC titanium carbide-reinforced composite coating was fabricated on 1Cr18Ni9Ti austenitic stainless steel substrate by plasma-transferred arc (PTA) weld-surfacing process using Fe–Ti–C powder blends. The microstructure, microhardness and dry-sliding wear behavior of the composite coating were investigated using optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron micrograph (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), microhardness tester and ring-on-ring wear tester. The formation mechanism of the composite coating has been discussed. Results show that the composite coating consists of primary TiC carbide as the reinforcing phase and TiC/γ-Fe eutectics as the matrix. The composite coating is metallurgically bonded to the 1Cr18Ni9Ti austenitic stainless steel substrate. The TiC/γ-Fe composite coating has high hardness and excellent wear resistance under dry-sliding wear test condition.