Study on Microstructure and Properties of WC Particle-reinforced Fe313 Coating by Plasma Cladding

WC particle-reinforced Fe313 coatings with different shapes were prepared on 45 steel surface by plasma cladding. The effects of WC particle shape on the phase structure and electrochemical corrosion properties of the coating were studied by SEM, EDS, XRD and electrochemical analysis. The results show that the addition of WC particles effectively inhibits the development of columnar dendrite in the coating, which makes more carbides with high hardness in the coating,and significantly improves the microhardness of the coating. In the electrochemical experiment, adding WC particles can enhance the corrosion resistance of the coating in H₂SO₄ solution and NaCl solution, and spherical WC particles can improve the corrosion resistance of the coating better. However, in NaOH solution, the addition of spherical WC particles has no obvious effect on the corrosion resistance of the coating, and the addition of polyhedral WC particles is unfavorable to the corrosion resistance of the coating.