The Surface Modification of Hot-Work Tool Steel AISI H13 by TIG Remelting Incorporating Carbides and Their Relations to Wear Behavior

Surface modification is a technique via induction of high energy input to produce a hard resilient thin layer on the surface of the weak substrate. Despite the fact that lasers are capable of producing surface-modified structures, their vehement cost of manufacturing is not comparable to the TIG torch melting technique, which can develop similar quality surfaces with less cost. To the extent of the author’s knowledge, the constant degradation of metal surfaces during friction are most likely to use wear test analysis in order to assess the durability of the coatings. TIG re-melting process was conducted using the major parameters, i.e. 165 A welding current and 175 mm/min welding speed (2.4 mm electrode diameter), under the protection of Argon. After re-melting, filed-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze phases and microstructures. After TIG re-melting on the surface of H13 steel, the phase transition from body-centered cubic (BCC) to face-centered cubic (BCT) occurred, and a great amount of carbide was segregated. Further, the hardness of the TIG re-melting layer has been increased largely, which has led to better wear resistance. To summarize, in the study, including the phase transition, precipitation, and change of grain boundary, has improved the performance of the TIG re-melted H13 greatly, which can develop its innovative applications.