Wire-feed deposition TiB reinforced Ti composite coating: Formation mechanism and tribological properties

To enhance the surface hardness and anti-wear performance so as to extend the applications of titanium (Ti) and its alloys in wear environments, TiB reinforced titanium matrix composites coatings were synthesized by tungsten inert gas (TIG) wire-feed deposition (WF-D) utilizing Ti-TiB2 cored wire as feedstocks for the first time. The coating showed a macroscopically uniform distribution, consisting of two-scale TiB whiskers (TiBw). The hardness of the coating (415 HV0.3) was increased by 108% than that of Ti substrate (200 HV0.3), while the wear loss (23.64 mg) decreased by 52.8% compared with the Ti substrate (50.13 mg). The performance improvement is attributed to in-situ two-scale TiBw that enhance the hardness of the coating and increase the resistance to plastic deformation. This work provides a new horizon for preparing anti-wear titanium matrix composites coatings.