On the influence of the counter-body material on the wear rate of 316L+WC composite coatings processed by Laser Cladding

E. Saggionetto1,a, T. Maurizi Enrici1,b, O. Dedry1,c, J. T. Tchuindjang1,d, A. Mertens1,e

1 Metallic Materials Science (MMS) – Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Department – University of Liège
aEnrico.Saggionetto@uliege.be - bTommaso.Maurizi-Enrici@uliege.be – cOlivier.Dedry@uliege.be
dJ.Tchuindjang@uliege.be – eAnne.Mertens@uliege.be

This work considers a metal matrix composite composed of 316L stainless steel and reinforcements of tungsten carbides (WC) particles (20 in vol.%), fabricated by laser cladding with a complex hierarchical microstructure [1]. Pin-on-disk tests with different counter-body material (Al2O3, WC-Co, Si3N4, Steel) were performed in order to determine the wear behaviour of the composite.

The term wear rate is often used to compare the wear performance of a material. This could lead to a wrong interpretation, as the wear rate is the result of the depth and the width of the removed volume of material. By changing the counter-body material, different wear rates are observed for both counter-body and specimen because of the different wear phenomena that occur. It is observed that high wear rates correspond to a severe wear due to a tribocorrosive behaviour leading to a high depth of the track. On the contrary, lower wear rate and lower depth of the track are due to the formation of a more protective tribolayer formed at the interface between the counter-body and the specimen, leading to a better protection for both counter-body and specimen.

By combining the trends of the Friction Coefficient (CoF) and the Penetration Depth (PDe), profilometer measurements of the worn volume, post-mortem observations of the wear track and counter-body together with the characterization of the wear debris, wear phenomena associated with each counter-body/specimen pair can be better understood.    

  1. Tommaso Maurizi Enrici, Olivier Dedry, Frédéric Boschini, Jérôme Tchoufang Tchuindjang, Anne Mertens, Microstructural and Thermal Characterization of 316L + WC Composite Coatings Obtained by Laser Cladding, Advanced Engineering Materials, 2020, 2000291