Wear resistance and thermal conductivity of Zr-base amorphous alloy/metal surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation

Wear resistance and thermal conductivity of Zr-base amorphous alloy/metal surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation were investigated. The mixture of Zr-base amorphous powders and LiF + MgF2 flux was deposited on a pure titanium substrate, and then electron beam was irradiated on this powder mixture to fabricate one- and two-layered surface composites. About 27 vol.% of dendritic β phase homogeneously distributed in the amorphous matrix of the surface composite layers. The hardness and wear resistance of the two-layered surface composite improved over the one-layered surface composite or stainless-steel-base surface composites fabricated with ceramic powders. The thermal conductivity of the two-layered composite was much lower than that of stainless-steel-base surface composites. These findings suggested the possibility of applying Zr-base amorphous alloy/metal surface composites to wear-resistant thermal barrier coatings or parts.