Sliding wear study of the Inconel-625 clad deposits by microwave heating on SS-304

Abstract

In this present study, the Inconel-625 powder was used for the surface modification of SS-304 alloy by utilizing the concept of a hybrid microwave heating technique. The XRD analysis shows the presence of various carbide and Laves phases in addition to a Ni-Cr-Fe-based face-centred-cubic matrix in the modified clad layer. The microstructural analysis revealed that the developed clad was metallurgically bonded with the substrate and free from any interfacial cracks. The modified layer mainly consists of two regions: cellular (matrix) regions and grain boundaries (GBs) regions. The average porosity in the modified clad layer was evaluated to be about 1.65%. The average microhardness (440±45 HV) of the modified clad layer was observed to be about 2.1 times the base metal microhardness (210±10 HV). The clad specimens exhibited a considerably lower wear rate (about 2.8 times less weight loss) than the substrate SS-304 during the dry sliding wear test. The shallow grooves, craters, and material debonding were the typical fracture features associated with the clad surfaces during rubbing when examined under a scanning electron machine apparatus.