Wear properties and microstructural analyses of Fe-based coatings with various WC contents on H13 die steel by laser cladding

Microhardness, wear properties and microstructure of Fe-based coatings with various WC contents on H13 hot-working die steel by laser cladding were investigated. Special attention was paid to the effects of various WC contents on the microstructural characterization and wear properties of different coatings by means of optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results indicated that only a small part of the periphery of the WC in the WC-added coatings was melted, and the un-melted WC particles in the coatings acted as a hard reinforcement. Besides, the microhardness in the cladding layer increased with the increment of the mass fraction of WC particles, and presented a gradient distribution along in-depth direction of the coatings. Furthermore, the Fe-based clad coating with WC particles exhibited a higher wear resistance and a lower friction coefficient compared with the substrate and Fe-based clad coating. In addition, the influence mechanism of WC particles on microstructural evolution and wear resistance was also discussed.