Effect of Pulse Width on Microstructure and Hardness of FeSiB Coatings by Laser Cladding

Abstract

High-density coating with FeSiB amorphous ribbons as cladding materials on the surface of mild steel was fabricated by laser cladding. The effect of different pulse widths on formability, microstructure and microhardness of the coatings was analyzed by optical microscope(OM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and microhardness tester. The results show that with the increase of the pulse width, the coating dilute rate rises; the tendency of crack increases and the crack originates from surface to the interface; the degree of crystallization increases and crystallization phases are α-Fe, Fe2B and Fe3Si, fusion zone width increases and the trend of columnar crystals along the epitaxial growth becomes bigger and bigger; the microhardness firstly increases and then decreases. When pulse width is 3.2ms, the structure of the coating is compact, no hole defects, the interface exhibits a good metallurgical combination and the dilute rate is low about 23.2%. Average microhardness of the coating reaches 1192HV, which is about 10 times as much as the substrate.

Keywords

• FeSiB amorphous ribbon
• pulse width
• laser cladding
• microstructure
• microhardness