Microstructure and properties of intermetallic composite coatings fabricated by selective laser melting of Ti–SiC powder mixtures

• Multiphase coatings fabricated by SLM of Ti–(20,30,40 wt.%)SiC powders.
• In situ formed composites contained TiCx, Ti5Si3Cx, TiSi2 and SiC phases.
• Coatings demonstrated high hardness and abrasive wear resistance.
• Insufficient remelting and transport within the melt caused structural inhomogeneity.
• Increase in the laser power was efficient to fabricate a homogeneous coating.

Transition metal silicides and carbides are attractive advanced materials possessing unique combinations of physical and mechanical properties. However, conventional synthesis of bulk intermetallics is a challenging task because of their high melting point. In the present research, titanium carbides and silicides composites were fabricated on the titanium substrate by a selective laser melting (SLM) of Ti–(20,30,40 wt.%)SiC powder mixtures by an Ytterbium fiber laser with 1.075 μm wavelength, operating at 50 W power, with the laser scanning speed of 120 mm/s. Phase analysis of the fabricated coatings showed that the initial powders remelted and new multiphase structures containing TiCx, Ti5Si3Cx, TiSi2 and SiC phases in situ formed. Investigation of the microstructure revealed two main types of inhomogeneities in the composites, (i) SiC particles at the interlayer interfaces and, (ii) chemical segregation of the elements in the central areas of the tracks. It was suggested and experimentally proven that an increase in laser power to 80 W was an efficient way to improve the laser penetration depth and the mass transport in the liquid phase, and therefore, to fabricate more homogeneous composite. The SLM Ti–(20,30,40 wt.%)SiC composites demonstrated high hardness (11–17 GPa) and high abrasive wear resistance (3.99 × 10−7–9.51 × 10−7 g/Nm) properties, promising for the applications involving abrasive wear.