Wear Resistance of WC-10Co-4Cr Cemented Carbide Coatings Prepared by Atmospheric Plasma Spraying and Laser Cladding

This paper adopts an atmospheric plasma spraying and laser cladding process to prepare WC-10Co-4Cr cemented carbide coatings on the substrate surfaces of 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel, respectively, and comparatively analyzes the microstructures, phase compositions, average hardness, and friction and wear performances of the coatings prepared under the two processes. The analysis showed that the plasma sprayed coating showed a lamellar structure, and the interface between the coating and the substrate was mechanically occluded, while the laser melting coating showed a dendritic structure, and the interface between the coating and the substrate was metallurgically bonded. After decarburization of the plasma sprayed coatings, the W2C phase dominated, while the laser cladding coatings were still dominated by the WC phase. In addition, the average microhardness, coefficient of friction, and mass loss of the plasma sprayed coatings were about 1341.7 HV, 0.45, and 0.005 g, respectively, while those of the laser cladding coatings were about 1440.5 HV, 0.4, and 0.002 g. The overall performance of the laser cladding coatings was better than that of the plasma sprayed coatings. The quality of the prepared WC-10Co-4Cr coatings was improved, which provides guidance for the preparation of WC-10Co-4Cr coatings by laser melting.