Influence of nano CeO2 particles and surface roughness on wear behavior and heat maps of WC composite coating

The present article investigates the influence of different composition of nano CeO 2 particles from 5.0 wt% to 20.0 wt% in the WC wear-resistant coating to enhance the sliding wear life on Al6082 T6 substrate. The influence of surface roughness of the coating on the specific wear rate and heat distribution on the worn surface was studied using novel Arduino thermal sensor-based system. The synergistic mechanism by which WC and secondary nano-CeO 2 particles enhance surface-functionalization of the coating were systematically explored. Microstructural characterization, specific sliding wear evaluation, and coefficient of friction of WC-nano CeO 2 particle coatings were conducted. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy was used to study surface morphology and elemental composition analysis. The results validates that the presence of secondary phase nano CeO 2 particles in the WC matrix significantly improves the coatings grain structure resulting in enhanced specific wear rate. However, the optimal performance is achieved at a CeO 2 composition of 15.0 wt% compared to rest of the coating compositions. The novel approach of using Arduino uno board integrated with AGM8833 IR camera is used to analyse the wear track by heat maps. This method of determining heat maps provides a new window to analyse the wear nature and corresponding debris formation. • The use of nano CeO 2 particles can significantly improve wear resistance of WC coatings. • The nano CeO 2 particles in the WC matrix significantly improves the coatings grain structure. • The 100% nano CeO 2 particles coating fails to achieve the wear-resistance coating • The novel approach of using Arduino uno board integrated with IR camera can be used to plot heat maps.