Original Article

The effect of CeO₂ on microstructure and properties of laser cladding stellite6/WC coating

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Anhui Science and Technology University, 23310, Fengyang, Anhui, P.R. China
² Wuhu Sheda Technology Co., Ltd., 241200, Fanchang, Anhui, P.R. China

^* e-mail: guochun@ahstu.edu.cn

Received: 21 December 2024
Accepted: 3 March 2025

Abstract

Laser cladding technology, as a green modification technique, faces challenges such as porosity and microstructural inhomogeneity in Stellite 6 coatings reinforced with WC. The addition of a small amount of CeO₂ has been shown to suppress or eliminate these adverse effects. It has been found that a certain amount of CeO₂ can significantly improve the adverse effects of tissues and refine grains. However, the tissue growth and phase composition were not changed, and the coating phase was mainly γ-Co and η-Co phases. Compared with the sample without CeO₂, the average cross-sectional hardness of the 1% CeO₂ sample was increased by 9%. The wear rate is reduced to 8.552x10^-9 g/(N · m), and the self-corrosion current density is generally increased by an order of magnitude. This study demonstrates that adding rare earth oxides can significantly improve the microstructure and mechanical properties of coatings, providing a theoretical basis for establishing coating repair and improvement systems in the future.