Laser cladding of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy with Ti+TiC powders

TiC/Ti composite layers were produced by laser melting the preplaced mixture of Ti and TiC powders. The results show that the microstructure, microhardness and wear resistance of the clad layer are all evaluated. The composite layer consists of TiC and α-Ti phases. TiC in the clad zone exists in the form of fine dendrites and Ti fills among TiC dendrites, which has a typical structure of TiC/Ti composite. The microhardness of the composite coating is significantly enhanced as high as HV_ 0.2940 as compared to HV_ 0.2345 of the substrate region. The composite layer has excellent wear resistance compared to titanium alloy.