Microstructure and Tribo-corrosion Behavior of Stainless Steel-304 Cladding with the Mixture of Nickel and Chromium Carbide by Microwave Energy

Abstract

In the present study, an attempt was made to develop surface cladding on stainless steel-304 steel by utilizing a mixture of 80% nickel and 20% chromium carbide powder via microwave energy. The microwave cladding process on the stainless steel-304 was carried out in the in-house developed set-up on the microwave. The microwave cladding process was carried out on 900 W with a 2.45 GHz frequency for 120 s. The microstructure image of the developed surface showed the presence of chromium carbide particles. EDX pattern of stainless steel-304 coating with 80% nickel and 20% chromium carbide showed the presence of elements such as Ni, Fe, C, Cr, Si, and O with wt% of 59.58%, 23.86%, 7.92%, 5.88%, 1.87% and 0.89%, respectively. Homogeneity of the cladding layer and cladding surface has been identified by observing the thickness of the cladding layer and cladding surface, respectively. A uniform cladding layer with fewer dark pixels has been observed with higher homogeneity. X-ray diffraction of the cladding surface shows the presence of iron, iron–nickel (1/3), chromium silicide, nickel silicide, heptachromium tricarbide, hexagonal nickel carbide, nickel carbide, and chromium-nickel (3/2) phases. The hardness of stainless steel-304 was improved by about 47.61%. The main reason for the increase in hardness is the formation of different carbides such as chromium silicide, heptachromium tricarbide, hexagonal nickel carbide, nickel carbide, and chromium-nickel (3/2) phases. The wear rate and coefficient of friction of the developed cladding surface with 80% nickel and 20% chromium carbide were found to be 0.00143 mm³/m and 0.2412, respectively. However, few dark spots were observed in the corroded surface of the cladding layer which indicated some corrosion in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride environment.