Effect of Y2O3 on Microstructure, Mechanical Performance of Ni-Based Coatings by Multi-Layer Laser Cladding
摘要
To enhance the wear and impact resistance of mechanical components, coatings were prepared using Ni45 and Y2O3 powder via laser cladding. Microstructure and elements of the coatings were examined using SEM and EDS. During the cladding process, a high-speed camera was employed to analyze the shape of the molten pool. Wear and impact resistance of coatings was tested by a wear-and-impact testing machine. With increasing yttrium oxide, the brightness of the melting pool and the size gradually increase. The thermal radiation intensity of the molten pool increases gradually with the amount added. The molten pool's flow rate gradually increases. When the addition amount is in the range of 0.6–1.2 wt.%, the trend of the flow rate gradually decreases. This is mainly because yttrium oxide attached to the powder increases the roughness of the particle surface and the powder's absorption of laser energy, thereby increasing the heat in the molten pool. Because yttrium oxide can act as a heterogeneous nucleation site, it increases the nucleation rate, thus refining the tissue and inhibiting hard-phase precipitation. With 0.4 wt.% yttrium oxide, the coating grain size is smaller, while the copytic tissue is larger and evenly distributed. Because yttrium oxide is enriched to the crystal boundary, it can effectively block the dislocation slip, but it does not form more intermetallic compounds with Ni elements, and the number of coated hard phases is also significantly reduced, so that the wear resistance of the yttrium oxide-containing coating is lower than that of the pure Ni45 coating. Yttrium oxide can significantly refine the coating tissue, reduce the hard precipitate phase, improve the energy required for grain boundary fracture, reduce the stress concentration point, and provide the coating containing 0.4 wt.% yttrium oxide with the maximum impact toughness, which is 52.61% higher than that of the pure Ni45 coating.