Microstructure and wear behaviours of laser-clad Cr13Ni5Si2-based metal-silicide coatings on a titanium alloy

Wear-resistant Cr13Ni5Si2-based metal-silicide coatings with a microstructure consisting of Cr13Ni5Si2 primary dendrites and small amount of interdendritic Cr13Ni5Si2/Cr3Ni5Si2 eutectics were fabricated on a titanium alloy BT9 by laser cladding using Cr–Ni–Si alloy powders in order to enhance the tribological properties of titanium alloys. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The wear resistance of the coating was evaluated under room-temperature metallic dry-sliding wear test conditions. Due to the presence of a large amount of Cr13Ni5Si2 primary phase, the coatings exhibited excellent wear resistance under dry-sliding wear test conditions.