Effect of Si addition on phase structure and wear resistance of CoCrFeMoNi alloy coatings

CoCrFeMoNi high entropy alloy coating was prepared on Q235 substrate by plasma cladding method. The phase structure, morphology characteristics, element distribution, microhardness, and wear resistance for this alloy without and with Si doping were investigated by XRD, OM, SEM, EDS, microhardness tester, and friction-wear tester, respectively. The results show that CoCrFeMoNi alloy is composed of a single FCC phase, while Si-containing alloy is composed of FCC main phase and HCP phase. Both alloys have a typical dendritic structure. There is a layer of isotropic fine-grained region near the fusion line, and a columnar crystal region away from the fusion line. After adding Si element, the enrichment of Mo element in the interdendrite region and Co element in the dendrite region significantly decreased, which is related to the Si-containing alloy can provide a liquid environment with longer duration, lower viscosity, and greater fluidity. The change of Cr element enrichment from interdendrite region to dendrite region is the result of comprehensive competition of mixing enthalpy, atomic radius difference, electronegativity, density, and melt flowability between alloying elements. The friction coefficients of the two alloys show a rapid increase first and then gradually stabilize with the increase of time. After adding Si element, the hardness and wear resistance of the alloy are greatly improved, which is mainly related to the increase of the lattice distortion of FCC phase, the formation of high-strength HCP phase and the reduction of internal defects.