Microstructure and tribological properties of Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating reinforced with ceramic phases synthesized in situ by plasma spraying

For improving the wear resistance of Al-30Si-5Cu coating, in this study, the composite coating in-situ synthesized TiC-TiN-TiN0.8C0.2/Al-30Si-5Cu (TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu) was prepared used TiH2-graphite aggregates as raw materials and plasma spraying technology. The effect of in-situ synthesized ceramic reinforcements on the coating was researched in detail. The results showed that during the plasma spraying process, TiH2 decomposed and chemically reacted with graphite to form TiC. Additionally, some Ti also reacted with N2 and O2 in the air to form TiN and TiO2. The phases composition of TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating were α-Al, β-Si, θ-Al2Cu, β-Ti, TiC, TiN, TiN0.8C0.2, TiO2, as well as amorphous CNX and residual graphite. The TiC-dominated ceramic phases and β-Si were uniformly distributed in the coating, which were tightly bound to the α-Al matrix. Because of the exceptionally rapid cooling rate during the coating preparation, a minor amount of submicron Si particles were also generated. The microhardness, elasticity modulus, and fracture toughness of TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating appeared improvements compared to those of Al-30Si-5Cu coating. The TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating exhibited smoother friction coefficient curve, along with lower friction coefficient and wear volume in comparison to the Al-30Si-5Cu coating. This suggested that the ceramic reinforcing phases in-situ synthesized led to a notable advancement in the wear resistance of the TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating. The wear resistance of TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating demonstrated an increasement of 78.3 % over the substrate and 28.2 % over the Al-30Si-5Cu coating. Under the dry friction test conditions outlined in this study, the wear mechanism of the TiCN/Al-30Si-5Cu composite coating included abrasive wear and fatigue wear, coupling with a minimal amount of oxidative wear.