Microstructure and Wear Resistance of Laser Clad Cuss/Cr5Si3 Metal Silicide Composite Coatings

Wear resistant Cuss/Cr5Si3 metal silicide composite coating was fabricated on a substrate of an austenitic stainless steel 1Cr18Ni9Ti by laser cladding process. Microstructure of the Cuss/CrsSi3 metal silicide composite coating was characterized by OM, SEM, XRD and EDS. Microhardness was measured using a MH-6 semi-automatic Vickers micro-hardness tester. The volume fraction of Cuss has a remarkable influence on hardness and wear resistance of the coating. The hardness and the wear resistance of the coating increase with the decreasing volume fraction of Cuss. The laser clad Cuss/Cr5Si3 metal silicide composite coating exhibits excellent wear resistance under room-temperature dry sliding.