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

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 CeO 2 has been shown to suppress or eliminate these adverse effects. It has been found that a certain amount of CeO 2 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 CeO 2 , the average cross-sectional hardness of the 1% CeO 2 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.