Effects of zirconium diboride addition on porosity reduction in laser metal deposition of tungsten carbide–cobalt cermet material

Laser metal deposition of tungsten carbide–cobalt (WC-Co) cermet material is a promising means of improving the wear resistance of metal products. However, laser metal deposition of WC-Co has constraints on its practical use because a clad bead of WC-Co often includes numerous gas pores. Earlier studies have found CO gas generation in a molten pool by reaction of carbon and oxygen to be the main cause of gas porosity in a WC-Co clad bead. Preventing the gas reaction is important to obtain clad beads with few pores. The addition of elements with strong affinity for oxygen, such as aluminum, was found to be effective for porosity reduction in a clad bead. However, the addition of highly reactive pure aluminum particles on WC-Co powder presents some difficulties for industrial use. For this study, zirconium diboride (ZrB2), a chemically stable compound, was used as an additive to WC-Co powder. After WC-Co powder with adhered ZrB2 particles was prepared using a wet granulation process, laser metal deposition was conducted. Zirconium stemming from the dissolution of ZrB2 in the molten pool was found to have the effect of trapping oxygen elements as solid zirconium oxides. Consequently, gas generation in the molten pool by the reaction of carbon and oxygen was restrained. Clad beads having few pores and fine microstructures were obtained. Observations of the molten pool behavior taken using a high-speed camera indicated that ZrB2 addition drastically improves process stability compared to processes using conventional WC-Co powder.