Product Code: ICAL07_1705

In-situ Synthesis of Titanium Carbide Particles in Iron Matrix using Laser Cladding
Authors:
Christ Prakash Paul, University of Waterloo; Waterloo, ON ON Canada
Amir Khajepour, University of Waterloo; Waterloo ON Canada
Mehrdad Iravani, University of Waterloo; Waterloo ON Canada
Stephen Corbin, University of Waterloo; Waterloo ON Canada
Presented at ICALEO 2007

Conventionally, the majority of reinforced phases are directly added into coating materials to form reinforcement in the matrix. The interface between the particles and matrix is often a potential source of weakness owing to different thermal expansion coefficients between them. When the surface of particles is not clean or is polluted, crack may propagate from the interface. These issues can be resolved if the reinforcements are formed in the matrix by reacting between added pure elements. The reinforcements may be more compatible with the matrix and the interface may be cleaner than that of composites made conventionally. Because the in situ formed dispersions are thermally stable, this will ensure that the composite matrix has sufficient strength to transfer stress. Therefore, this methodology finds wide attention to form reinforcement in the matrix and various techniques are being tried to develop the process. This paper describes in-situ synthesis of TiC particles in Fe matrix using laser cladding. A precursor mixture of graphite, titanium and Iron powders is deposited on low-carbon steel using pre-placed technique and promising results are observed. The comprehensive study is under progress. The paper will present the optimization of the process parameters and material characterization using various techniques, including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, microhardness, XRD analysis.