Effect of remelting process on characterization of air-plasma sprayed Fe67.5Ni23.5B9 alloy coatings onto 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel

To develop a composite material with good mechanical and radiation shielding properties, the Fe–Ni–B (Fe67.5Ni23.5B9, wt. %) coatings onto 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel substrate (SS, same as below) were prepared using air-plasma spraying (APS) technique in this work. A remelting process (1050 °C/2 h) was performed on the Fe–Ni–B coatings laminated composite under vacuum condition. The microstructure, phase composing, adhesion strength, Vickers hardness distribution and residual stress of Fe–Ni–B coatings before and after the remelting process were contrastively characterized. The results show that the remelting process decrease the coating defects and make the coating more cohesive and stable. The element diffusion and new compounds formation within the coating and interface area improves the adhesion and thermal fatigue of Fe–Ni–B coatings. In addition, the drop of variability of Vickers hardness data and residual stress level qualitatively identify that the Fe–Ni–B coatings possess more consistent microstructure and mechanical integrity after the remelting process.