Tungsten carbide coating prepared by ultrasonic shot peening to improve the wear properties of magnesium alloys

Abstract

To improve the wear properties of magnesium alloys, a novel technique for preparing coatings using ultrasonic shot peening was developed, and tungsten carbide (WC) coatings were prepared for the first time on the magnesium alloys. The surface morphology, microstructure characteristics, and wear properties were investigated. The findings showed that this method deposited a WC coating with a thickness of 20 μm and a surface hardness of 3.24 GPa on the substrate. A 5 μm composite layer and a 425 μm thick hardened layer existed beneath the coating. The formation mechanism of the hardened layer can be interpreted as dislocation slip and grain refinement, resulting in a hardness of 1.96 GPa at the layer's top. The treated sample exhibited excellent wear resistance due to the high hardness of the WC coating and hardened layer, with a wear volume of 0.737 × 108 μm3, representing a decrease of 49.52% and 35.29% compared to the untreated and ultrasonic shot peening one. The research provides a novel solution to improve the wear properties of magnesium alloys, and it contributes to enhancing magnesium alloys' applicability in practical engineering fields such as aerospace, new energy vehicles, and biomedicine while also contributing to meeting the demand for lightweight manufacturing in these fields.

Keywords

• Magnesium alloys
• Ultrasonic shot peening
• Tungsten carbide coating
• Wear properties