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Influence of WC Particle on the Metallurgical, Mechanical, and Corrosion Behavior of AlFeCuCrCoNi-WCx High-Entropy Alloy Coatings

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Abstract

The high-entropy alloy AlFeCuCrCoNi-WCx (x = 5, 10, and 15 wt.%) multi-principal element claddings were synthesized with the aid of laser-assisted cladding process on AISI 316 steel substrate. The microstructural behavior was characterized by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (FESEM/EDS). The phase analysis using XRD revealed that in addition to the combination of two FCC + BCC phases, a set of diffraction peaks corresponding to WC and Cr23C6 phases is observed. The observation indicates that the cladding zone is mainly consisting of fine-grained nondirectional and equiaxed crystals away from the base material and columnar grains near to the base material. Microstructural observations also conclude that increasing WC leads to refinement in the grain size. The formation of chromium carbide is limited to the AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC10 AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC15 high-entropy alloy coatings due to insufficient carbon content in AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC5 high-entropy alloy coatings to form chromium carbide. As compared to the substrate AISI 316 (164.5 HV0.5), the microhardness of the AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC5, AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC10 and AlFeCuCrCoNi-WC15 claddings is enhanced by approximately 49.6%, 73.5% and 79.7%, respectively. The corrosion resistance of the AlFeCuCrCoNi-WCx multi-principal element coating in 3.5 wt.% NaCl corrosive environment is better than that of the substrate AISI 316. However, the corrosion rate of the high-entropy alloy coating increases and corrosion resistance is deteriorated with the rise in WC content.

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Acknowledgments

The author appreciates the funding provided by the Department of Science and Technology, India (DST-EMR/2016/000451) and ACMS Department of IIT-Kanpur for metallurgical characterization.

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  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat, 395007, India

    Akash Vyas & Jyoti Menghani

  2. Magod Fusion Technologies Private Limited, Pune, 411026, India

    Harshad Natu

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Vyas, A., Menghani, J. & Natu, H. Influence of WC Particle on the Metallurgical, Mechanical, and Corrosion Behavior of AlFeCuCrCoNi-WCx High-Entropy Alloy Coatings. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 30, 2449–2461 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05523-8

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