Effect of Fe content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Fe-based composite coatings by laser induction hybrid rapid cladding

To select the proper composition and obtain an overall material-microstructure-property relationship for Cu-Fe alloy, the effect of Fe content on microstructure and properties of Cu-Fe-based composite coatings by laser induction hybrid rapid cladding was investigated. Microstructure characterization of the composite coatings was tested utilizing SEM, XRD and EDS. Microhardness measurement was executed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composite coatings. The results show that for low Fe content, the composite coating presents a feature that Fe-rich equiaxed dendrites are embedded in the Cu-rich matrix. With increasing Fe content, the Fe-rich particles are dispersed in the Cu-rich matrix. With further increasing Fe content, large amounts of Cu-rich particles are homogeneously dispersed in the interdendrite of the Fe-rich matrix. Correspondingly, the average microhardness of the composite coatings increases gradually with the increase of Fe content and the microhardness of Cu14.5Fe83Si2C0.5 coating is much twice higher than that of the substrate.