Tribological performances of Ni3Si–Cr7C3 composite coatings under water and acid environments

The Ni3Si–Cr7C3 composite coatings with various contents of Cr7C3 were deposited on the AISI 1020 steel substrate by self-propagating high temperature synthesis casting and their tribological performances were studied under water and acid environments. The results demonstrated that all the Ni3Si–Cr7C3 composite coatings showed excellent friction-reduction, and wear resistance performances compared to the substrate and the AISI 321 stainless steel. While it is worth noting that the coating containing 37.2 wt.% of Cr7C3 exhibited the best tribological performances. In addition, the friction reduction and wear resistant mechanism was also discussed and considered to be microploughing under both water and acid environments.