Effect of wolfram carbide particles on high entropy alloy coating prepared by laser cladding

To obtain the coating with excellent properties, FeSiCrCoMo high entropy alloy (HEA) coatings on Q235 steel were prepared by laser cladding. The effect of adding WC on microstructure and properties of the HEA coatings were investigated. By means of OM, XRD, SEM, microhardness test and hardmeter abrasion tester, the microstructure, phase structure, hardness and wear resistance of the coatings adding WC and without adding WC were studied. The experimental results indicate that the microstructure of the FeSiCrCoMo HEAs coating is dendrite, the coating is mainly composed of body centered cubic (BCC) with intermetallics. The microstructure of the coating with WC is grain cellular crystal, at the same time, the BCC phase increase and intermetallics decrease. The mechanical properties of the coating are also enhanced by adding WC. With WC added, the average hardness of the coating increases by 23%, the average hardness of coating reaches 687HV0.2; on the other hand, the wear rate decreases and wear resistance increases, hence the wear-resisting performance improves.