Friction and wear behavior of laser cladded WC-Co and Ni/WC-Co deposits at high temperature

Abstract This research investigates the wear performance of WC-12Co and electroless Ni/WC-Co deposits at high temperature. Dry sliding wear experiments were carried out for coated and uncoated steel substrate against alumina pin. The microstructure and wear performance of laser-cladded WC-Co and Ni/WC-Co were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The mass reduction, friction coefficient, and wear rate of Ni/WC-Co deposits were measured and found to be significantly lower than WC-Co coatings. Due to the presence of Ni coating around the particle of the Ni/WC-Co coating, it showed a lower microhardness, more homogeneous microstructure, and a higher wear performance compared to WC-Co coating. The results of this paper indicated that the dominant mechanisms in wearing distance were adhesive, abrasive, and pulling out from the particles.