Wear Assessment of Fe-TiC/ZrC Hardfacing Produced from Oxides

The direct conversion of oxides into carbides during plasma transferred arc welding is a promising processing route to produce wear resistant overlays at low cost. In the present study, Fe-TiC and Fe-ZrC composite overlays were produced by carbothermic reduction of TiO2 and ZrO2 during plasma transferred arc deposition. The overlays were characterised by optical microscopy, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The microstructure consisted of small TiC and ZrC evenly dispersed in a pearlitic matrix. The Vickers microhardness was measured and low-stress abrasion tests were conducted. The results showed increased hardness and promising wear resistance under low-stress abrasion conditions.